Explain This to Me
by Wysteria Fox
Summary: And then she smiled at me. That special smile-- the one meant only for me. I know it is, because she never smiles that way if anyone else is around. Just when it's me, and her.
1. November 17th

Hello everyone:) For those who haven't read my page yet, this was the clean slate I was talking about. I was inspired. And some of this may be confusing at first, so I'll try and explain beforehand so everyone can identify. :)

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_**Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots...**_ Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic_ thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

--

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

P.S. The day and time that BB writes is not important. It was something I added to give it a more real feel.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

HOWEVER, I did write this story, and the subject matter included, myself and I would appreciate it if no one tries to plagerize it. And also, it would be much appreciated that if you want this as part of a FF community-- let me know. Thanks. : D**

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**Explain This to Me**

_**November 17th 2007 8:45:37 pm**_

_**Responsibility and duty. My responsibility is to my city, to my pledge as a hero, and to my teammates. My duty, however, will always be to my heart, and to those I care about most. I just wish that these two forces inside me didn't clash so much. That somehow I could find an inner peace and quell the storm between them-- these forces—these feelings.**_

"Beast Boy are you listening to me?!" Raven exclaimed, her voice sounding very much like she'd tried to grab his attention more than once.

The green-eyed boy turned to face her swiftly, "Yes, Raven??" he sounded shocked, he in fact hadn't been paying any attention at all; he wasn't even aware that she had been in the room.

"Fine. Don't worry about the meeting then. The rest of us will just go over battle tactics without you."

"C'mon Raven, that's not fair-- you know I wasn't listening." he whined.

"Of course not, your eyes were glued to the television screen." she shot back, walking towards the living room entrance.

"I'm coming. Wait up!" he cried out leaping off the couch after the dark-haired girl.

**_This was the responsibility part I was talking about._**

"So did you read any of those books I asked you to?" she asked, her tone becoming lighter, almost cheerful like.

"Um," he placed a hand to his chin in a contemplative manner as the two walked down the long hallway towards the conference room, "I started reading Tragic Discord, but I haven't gotten very far." he replied honestly. For some unknown reason to him, Raven had been asking him to read books that she liked. He figured that it was so they'd have something else to talk about-- or argue about.

"You haven't gotten to the really good ones yet then." she sighed with a hint of humor in her voice.

_**And then she smiled at me. That special smile-- the one meant only for me. I know it is, because she never smiles that way if anyone else is around. Just when it's me, and her. So this is where my duty comes in. The duty to my heart. I care about Raven a lot. We've been though some tough times, but we've also have had many good times together. Up until a few weeks ago, or maybe a month, I knew what we were-- teammates, friends, family...**_

"Well, I'll get there soon enough. I got a couple of Rocketman comics calling my name first." he snickered, while she rolled her eyes at him.

The two had almost made it to the Conference room, but suddenly, Raven stopped mid-walk. She turned to the boy beside her, "Did you bring your map?"

"What map?" he scratched his head with confusion.

Raven groaned, "Well, I guess we'll have to share then."

"Don't sound so disappointed Raven. You know you like sitting by me at the Conference table." he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

The purple-eyed girl rolled her eyes again and disappeared into the Conference room without him. He waited a mere second before rushing in after her; they were probably late anyway. Once in the room, the two noticed that Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire were the only ones present. All of the Titans were supposed to be meeting today to discuss updates in their specific regions, debate about changes to be put into effect, and all that sort of thing.

Raven settled into her normal seat to the left of Robin. Beast Boy wandered after her and sat on her right. But it was when he finally sat down, and she felt his hand brush hers that she realized what had caused her previous eye-roll-- during their long meetings he would always take her hand, or be near her hand at least. Sometimes it was like they were playing some sort of game, like footsie with their hands. How she couldn't stand it...sometimes.

Sometimes, she would admit to herself that she liked holding his hand; that she liked playing a secret game with him during the "boring slumber party" as he put it. She turned to look at him a moment, and after a few long heartbeats, he met her eyes, "What'cha thinking Raven?"

"Nothing." she replied as she looked away from him clutching his hand tighter.

_**But now, I'm not sure what the two of us are-- I'm not sure what I want us to be. Boyfriend-Girlfriend comes to mind-- but after Terra-- I'm not sure I want to risk the stability of the group again. I like our team the way it is-- all of us on the same family-like grounds-- and then I remember-- Starfire and Robin are together. They may keep their public displays of affection to a minimum, but their relationship is there, and it's even more obvious considering Starfire sits at his right side. And somehow everything stays stable despite this...**_

_**They try to keep it a secret, but they're not good pretenders if you ask me. Now Raven, on the other hand...**_

Beast Boy glanced down at his and Raven's interlocked fingers. He didn't know exactly why he'd started holding her hand at the meetings; it was just something he'd probably started as a joke and then turned into a "given" sorta thing. Not that he could complain, "So where are the others?" he asked his masked teammate, glancing around the room before meeting eyes with his fearless leader.

Robin look contemplative for a moment, "I'm not sure. Bumblebee said that they would be late, but no word from any of the others. But truthfully, I guess it really is hard for everyone to meet here-- and leave their cities unguarded. We're going to discuss that today-- we need new strategies."

Starfire's eyes lit up suddenly as though she remembered some important story, "I almost did the forgetting. I'll return." she flew out of the room in a flash, causing the others to wonder why she'd left so quick. Cyborg glanced at his three other teammates, "So, what have ya'll be up to?" he asked trying to break the stale silence that had been casing the room.

Robin seemed lost in his own thoughts, so Cyborg quickly diverted his attention from him and towards Raven and Beast Boy. Raven replied in her normal, quiet manner, "Reading, expanding my vocabulary, and meditating-- the usual."

Beast Boy looked as though he might add to the discussion, but Starfire came walking back in carrying some trays of food. Robin slapped his forehead in aggravation, "The catering! I knew I forgot something."

"That is why you have me Robin." Starfire smiled kissing his cheek.

Catering was something all of the Titans had agreed on considering few would eat Starfire's cooking, and there was so many mouths to feed they had agreed that it made sense to outsource their food needs. He grumbled something about being forgetful before electing to help her carry the rest of the food into the room, and Cyborg followed after. Raven stood up, but Beast Boy didn't let go of her hand, "Come on, let's help. We can play games later." and with that she pulled her hand from his.

Beast Boy was reluctant still, however, it's not that he didn't want to help-- it's just he felt too lazy to help, "I guess I'll just have to keep the room safe. And of course all this great food needs protecting." he continued rubbing his stomach and licking his lips.

Raven stomped back into the room a moment later, "That wasn't a suggestion. Don't be so lazy and help the rest of us." she pulled him out of his chair by the arm and dragged him downstairs.

**_Call me crazy-- but I'll always love that about her. She's never lazy. She's always 150 percent. Although sometimes, I wish she'd cut a guy a break. Like the one time she asked me to move her bookcases for her; I told her she could move them herself-- after all she is an empath-- but she wasn't feeling well, and it was Beast Boy to the rescue. Why not Cyborg hmm? He's all "manly-look-at-me-carrying-four-tons-on-my-shoulders!" dude-- she shoulda asked him... I can't remember why she wanted to move them, but I think that ended badly...oh yeah, I made a comment about her room being dusty and she kicked me to the curb- ouch._**

Finally, the other Titans arrived for the meeting. As everyone took their respective seats, the meeting began. Everyone seemed to be really into the subject matters at hand-- reconstruct this, change that-- everyone except Beast Boy that is...actually Mas y Menos weren't paying very good attention either, but then again they didn't speak english. But most of all his boredom seemed to consume him because his dark-haired teammate was the one most enthralled with all of this drama. She was standing up to speak so that her voice would be heard, so that meant no secret game for them to play.

_**It shouldn't irritate me-- we're not "together"-- but for some reason it does anyway. I know that I like her, but I'm not sure in what way or on what terms--**_

_**all my feelings are muddled.**_

As the meeting dispersed, Beast Boy caught Raven by the arm before she could stroll out the door. She gave him a puzzled look, "Oh sorry about the game thing." she told him, knowing that no one else was paying attention to their conversation as they headed out the door, "It was really important for me to focus in this meeting. There were many changes I had to convince the others of-- Robin asked me to-- he said that I'm a better negotiator than he is, and more persuasive."

He let go of her arm, "It's okay, I just wanted to catch you before you left-- I was bored to tears."

"Let me guess-- you want to hang out and talk about it?" she mused, walking towards the door with him following close behind.

"Maybe, I--"

"Raven," Robin's voice broke through what Beast Boy was about to say, "Good job today. I couldn't have talked my way out of any of that."

"Thanks, you say too much." she replied, "I was only doing my part for the team."

Raven walked out of the door and into the hallway letting her feet lead her to her room. Beast Boy had only followed her out the door, but watched her walk to her room-- he was wondering if he should call out to her again-- and decided against it before walking to his own room. Once he was in his room, he sat down in front of his computer, and began to type. He wasn't the fastest typist in the world, but he was getting better. Ever since his feelings had become muddled, he had decided to write about his feelings and the day's occurrences on his computer.

He didn't have a blog or anything public, it was just a way for him to vent and decipher-- also writing in a notebook was something girls did-- diaries-- bleh.

_**So is liking practically everything about one of your teammates a bad thing? I don't think so, but I'm wrong a lot, so who knows? I guess I'll wrap this up for today. More tomorrow.**_

_**-B.B.**_

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Chapter 2 up soon. :)


	2. November 18th

Hello everyone:) For those who haven't read my page yet, this was the clean slate I was talking about. I was inspired. And some of this may be confusing at first, so I'll try and explain beforehand so everyone can identify. :)

Yay for updates. ;)

--

**_Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots..._** Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic_ thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

--

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

P.S. The day and time that BB writes is not important. It was something I added to give it a more real feel.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

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**Explain This to Me**

**_November 18, 2007 12:59:15 pm_**

**_"Everyone deals with their own internal conflicts from time to time, it's how they deal with them that determines the outcome of their happiness."_**

**_She told me that once._**

**_It made me think-- think deep-- which is hard enough for me as it is, but it's okay; I had the fan running (to clear the smoke you know?). I'll always remember that day-- they day she said that-- the day we had that conversation-- about life, choices-- internal conflict..._**

**_"You will always have those forces inside you-- warring with each other. You will always have to come up with new ways to reclaim peace within yourself. I'm no stranger to the way you feel right now-- and you know that."_**

**_Beast Boy stared at her, his eyes fiery with rage, "How could you possibly know what I'm feeling-- you've never been in love before..."_**

**_Raven took a step down the steep rocks of the beach before sitting next to him on "his" rock, "That may be true, but what I do know is that you can't let all of this shake you for the wrong reasons. What the two of you had was irreplaceable, knowing what you had will always be permanent." she paused a moment to place a comforting pat on his shoulder, "But you don't have to make it the end of everything else you have."_**

**_A few tears fell from his eyes; how he hated to let anyone see him cry. Terra's betrayal and death had taken a bigger toll on him than he realized. He felt like there was a missing puzzle piece in his life now, but having Raven there to comfort him made it all better somehow, "Thanks Rae," he smiled softly at her, "You always know just what to say. Right now though--" _**

**_"You need to be alone. I know. I just wanted you to know that the rest of us care about you. I care about you, and as much as it pains me to say it, I miss hearing your silly jokes."_**

**_"Aha, so you do actually listen to me." he grinned, tears still draining down his cheeks._**

**_"You're kinda hard to ignore." Raven gave him her special smile, before standing up again, and walking into the Tower. Beast Boy watched her go, feeling his heartstrings pull, What would I do without her friendship? he wondered._**

**_- - - - - -_**

**_It seemed so simple at the time. Lunch-- that is-- asking her to meet me for lunch-- I mean. Is it really too much to ask for alone time with a girl you care about?_**

"Hey Rae!" Beast Boy called, practically jumping down the stairs to meet Raven in the kitchen.

"Don't call me Rae." She chided, never taking her eyes off her tea kettle as it cooked her morning herbal tea.

"Hey Raven," Beast Boy corrected himself, strolling up to his dark-haired companion, "How does lunch sound?"

"Lunch sounds like its a couple hours from now." She replied curtly.

"You know what I mean— I'm talking about you and me going to lunch somewhere together—if you're not busy later that is." He re-phrased before allowing a huff of aggravation escape him.

Raven glanced around the room momentarily, before flashing him her special smile, "I know that dummy."

Beast Boy glanced around the room after her and realized that she was only putting on a front because she didn't know if any of the others were nearby. The green-eyed boy gave her a frazzled look, "Aw c'mon Raven, you're still not upset about what Hotspot said at the last Conference are you?"

Raven rolled her eyes, "I don't want to talk about it." She muttered pouring herself some tea.

_**At the last Conference, Hotspot, for some absurd reason, brought up the fact that Raven and I always sit next to each other; which in turn brought many other "lovebird" like comments. Needless to say the two of us were embarrassed. I couldn't even get her to look at me for a week. So maybe she's afraid of us being a couple, maybe she actually likes me back and she's too shy to say so--**_

_**or maybe Hotspot should keep his mouth shut.**_

"Believe me Raven, I would never want to embarrass you. So I guess if you're embarrassed to be seen with me in public then I'll find someone else to go to lunch with—"

"Quit being dramatic." She said while taking a seat at the Titans' table, "Of course I'll go to lunch with you."

Beast Boy smiled, and then joined her at the table. The two talked quietly for a few minutes before they were interrupted by Robin, "Raven, we're still going over those Conference reports again right?"

Raven's calm expression was replaced with one of pondering, "Oh I remember—it slipped my mind. Yes."

Robin nodded and walked into his room again. Raven sighed as she stared at Beast Boy from across the table, "You know that means no lunch right? Those reports are monstrous."

_**It's times like these where I wish I was the leader of the team.**_

_**Bossy, pushy, ruining lunch plans without a thought…**_

"It's okay. You forgot. We can go tomorrow or something." He tried to force a smile, but it faltered, so he got up from the table and walked upstairs. Raven watched him go up the stairs with a sad look; _I'll make it up to you—promise._

_**So if that didn't make things worse. I found out that after the reports, Kid Flash stopped by and asked Raven to eat dinner with her-- which she accepted. I normally don't hold much against Raven, but I couldn't believe it. I wanted to be so angry with her! How could she make time for Robin and Flash but not me?**_

Just as Beast Boy was typing those words, there came a knock to his door. He jumped up from the computer and rushed to the door hoping for it to be the dark-haired girl he cared about so much.

"Ra—Cyborg?" he greeted, surprised to find Cyborg in his doorway instead of Raven.

"Don't sound so disappointed." Cyborg laughed, "I just wanted to see what you were doing. I'm bored."

"Cyborg. Bored? Can those words be used in the same sentence?"

"Very funny." Cyborg grinned walking into his room, "You typing something?" he continued, walking over to the computer. Beast Boy dove in front of the computer and minimized the screen at once, "It's just some internet quiz I was taking. Nothing important."

"Oh yeah? Lemme see." Cyborg replied, leaning forward to reach for the mouse.

"No!" he cried out, but then recomposed himself, "No. I'm not done. I don't want our scores to get messed up."

"Okay…" Cyborg replied, his voice on edge; he hadn't excepted Beast Boy to suddenly be so bent out of shape about an internet quiz…or was he…

Cyborg straightened again and pretended to find somewhere else to sit, but when he noticed that Beast Boy had lowered his guard again, he leapt for the computer. Managing to gently push him from his seat, "Ooo love note…" Cyborg laughed, scrolling through it.

Beast Boy muttered to himself as he stood up again. Well, it was better for Cyborg to know it than anyone else he figured. Cyborg's jaw nearly dropped, "I can't believe you have it so bad for Raven."

The green-haired boy blushed bright pink, "Yeah, well, I dunno."

"No this is great!" Cyborg exclaimed suddenly very enthusiastic about the possibility of two of his teammates getting together.

"Really?" Beast Boy nearly squeaked. He didn't expect Cyborg to be so for it.

"Yah of course. You didn't think I'd make fun of you for it did you?" his friend replied, raising a brow at him, "Besides, Raven really could use someone special to look after her."

"Then why don't you do it if it's so easy!?" Beast Boy huffed, suddenly angered by the simple terms Cyborg has just classified Raven and he.

"Calm down B." Cyborg raised his hands in defense, "It's possible that she likes you too. Anyone could like anyone else."

"I don't want to talk about feelings." The green boy grumbled, "But please, don't tell anyone. I have to do this by myself."

Cyborg shrugged, "Okay, I still think you should tell her or something though."

Beast Boy took a few steps back from Cyborg, "I don't know. I've tried re-wording it a million times. All I end up doing is cracking some dumb joke, or grinning like an idiot." but then his voice turned darkly depressing, "That or thinking about…Terra."

Cyborg's gaze became soft, "I understand B. But you know Raven's not like that."

"Yeah, yeah, well," he paused, "I'm not ready to tell her yet."

_**They say a person's room is a clear determinate of its occuppant's state of mind. My room has always been a mess-- much like my life-- much like my heart. I know it sounds dramatic to most people, but most people don't know what it's like to be chased for their inheritance-- passed around from family to family like Thanksgiving gravy...**_

"Nobody says you have to." his half-robotic friend replied, "I was just saying that if you like a girl, you shouldn't keep it bottled up."

_**Of course relationship tramua is something everyone has to deal with in their lives. Terra is still haunting me in the deepest pits of my heart. I keep asking myself from time to time if I had done this different, would she have stayed? If I'd just told her how much she meant to me, would it have mattered? Or maybe if I hadn't said anything at all, would it have really make a difference...**_

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Cyborg. Now I should really finish that quiz."

Cyborg laughed hartily, but exited the room anyway. Beast Boy sat down at his keyboard again, but felt his desire to write die away. He'd written enough for one night. The green-eyed boy turned his monitor off, and flipped the light switch.

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Okie dokie. More up soon. I think I'll try to post every seven days or so. It really depends on homework and the like.

Wysti


	3. November 22nd

Hello everyone! :) For those who haven't read my page yet, this was the clean slate I was talking about. I was inspired. And some of this may be confusing at first, so I'll try and explain beforehand so everyone can identify. :)

Also I should note that the time's BB uses are the times he starts writing, so that's why you'll see his journal writing throughout. I know that all of you understand that, but I just figured I'd confirm it to make sure that it's clear because I could see how it could be confusing.

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

**SxStrngSamurai13:** Thanks again for the wonderful review! I always look forward to see what you have to say about my work. :)

**Raven'sWinterRaine:** Thanks. I actually got the idea for the metaphor by reading a psychology magazine. I thought it was interesting, and it's pretty accurate if you ask me.

**acosta perez jose ramiro:** Thanks. I try to portray him accurately. Besides, he's too much fun write thoughts for. : p

**PanamaRoxMySox:** Ta-da: D

**CLAREsaysHI:** Thanks, I'll try. ; )

**Azariel:** Ask and you shall recieve. Lol.

--

_Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots..._ Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic_ thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

--

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

P.S. The day and time that BB writes is not important. It was something I added to give it a more real feel.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

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**Explain This to Me**

_**November 22nd 2007 1:35:09 pm**_

_**I hate to admit it, but sometimes feeling your heart tied in knots works wonders for one's life. It gives you a sort of clarity that something has gone wrong in your life-- or that you've been walking a different path than you imagined a year, a month, a week ago. If I'm ever to feel accomplished about where I am as a person and as a hero, I need to find that total clarity. The type of clarity where you know everything has turned out right, and that only a happy bliss is ahead of you...**_

_**And speaking of bliss's; Reluctantness, and stubbornness.**_

_**Yeah, I'm talking about Raven's two favorite states of mind-- the reluctant friend, and the stubborn teammate. Even though all of these years have changed her outlook on openness, she's still reluctant to open up completely. I hope she lets go of her inhibitions soon. And then the stubborn teammate-- don't even get me started. If only she were this dedicated as a friend-- she'd have me beat sure. She's so determined when we have a mission to go on, or something 'responsibility' related to take care of.**_

Beast Boy sighed as he sat at the computer. He hadn't received any word from Raven about what had happened a couple of days ago. She said that she'd make it up to him, so he figured that meant she'd approach him. So there he sat, obsessing in his room about what she might be doing at that moment.

"Hey Beast Boy," a voice called, while its owner knocked on the door, "You in there?"

The green-eyed boy felt excitement overtaking him. _Finally, something to do besides mope! Great, I'm getting as bad as Raven...about moping that is._ Beast Boy slid his door open to see Aqualad standing in his doorway.

"Wanted to see if you wanted to join the rest of us guys and do something besides sulk in your lair." the dark-haired boy joked while leaning on his friend's doorframe.

"I am not sulking." the green-haired boy retorted, "I writing to kill my inner angst."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Are you coming or what?"

"Of course." he paused briefly, "What are we going to do?"

Aqualad waved off his question nonchalantly, and walked down the long hallway to the main room. The young changeling followed his friend diligently. His heart was doing back flips when he saw how many of his other friends had decided to join in whatever fun they were going to be having.

"A video game tournament!?" Beast Boy exclaimed, feeling fireworks explode inside him...though these were more from the release of disappointment-- he'd hoped they would all do something more active and outdoors-y. He wanted to get away from the Tower for awhile.

_**Of course this is when Miss Priss had to be all like, "OMG LETS LEIK GO SHOP1NG1!1!1!!" to frieken Robin-- yes I'm talking about Starfire-- not Raven. She's nicknamed something else in my book when irritation comes to mind.**_

_**Don't get me wrong. I adore Starfire. She's like a sister to me, but she has the most God-awful timing.**_

_**Poor guy. Glad I don't have a GF at this point.**_

"Come Robin, we should pick you out something nice as well." Starfire's tone turned into a serious. Her voice turning into that one she had been using a lot more frequently-- the voice that was slowly becoming the norm. Slowly the socially awkward Starfire they knew was turning into quite the Earthling. Almost.

**_Okay I take that last sentence back. Getting to watch a girl change clothes would be so awesome...Kidding. Totally kidding. I know they have changing rooms. Duh. The part I would like is hm..._**

**_Gimme a minute..._**

Robin sighed heavily, and rose from the couch leading her away from the group, "Why did you pick today to go Star? Why not tomorrow? Even yesterday would've been better. We've been planning this get-together for awhile you know that Star."

Starfire folded her arms, and her tone raised an octave, "I asked you yesterday but you said tomorrow. And today is tomorrow."

"Can't it wait another day? Go shopping with Raven or something." his patience began to wear thin as he heard the other boys picking teams without him.

"Okay," she conceded, "But this wasn't supposed to be a trip of casualness. It's for the Mayor's Ball. It's formal, don't you remember?"

"Ah, right." he fumbled, "We still have a week or so left."

Starfire nodded dimly. She didn't care to fight with him anymore. Turning on her heel she returned upstairs. Robin sensed her displeasure, but at that moment, he didn't care.

She wasn't his mother.

"C'mon guys, don't pair me with BB again!"

**_HATE. Robin gets none of my pity anymore. So then at our little game tournament, I owned everyone. I mean serious ownage. All of their petty little robot armies fell at my commander robot's feet. It was dumb luck-- had to be-- either that or I was in the Zone._**

"I still don't believe it. How did you get so good?" Cyborg questioned Beast Boy as the group of boys lounged around the table idly eating snack foods.

Beast Boy was about to shrug and claim that it was the 'Zone's' doing, but the Titans' alarm went off. All the Titans, out of force of habit looked up confirming that the red flashes were indeed circling the room. Robin leapt over the table with cat-like grace. Running up to the computer screen, he flicked the switches that would tell the Titans where to go. Starfire and Raven appeared downstairs just in time to follow the band of boy Titans outward.

_Finally, true excitement! _Beast Boy cheered to himself.

_**Hell hath no fury like a scorned woman's…side kick. Geez, where do all these new wackos come from anyway?**_

The villainess's large blast of energy threw half of the Titans across the street from where the battle had begun. Beast Boy sat up rubbing the back of his head roughly. He muttered to himself while the others joined the fray once more.

Robin threw his electric disks at their enemy only to have them shredded by her own electric powers. Starfire threw green shots of energy that were soon followed by a swirl of dark energy. Cyborg also shot a few blasts while working his way closer to their opponent.

Aqualad was about to attack, but Kid Flash zipped past him throwing him off balance. The dark-haired hero grumbled, but was thankful that in the chaos, he'd been knocked out of the way of a flare of electricity. Hotspot was about to grab a hold of the villainess, but she leapt out of his way and started running toward a store.

**_How many Titans did it take to beat a villain anyway?_**

Beast Boy took a few seconds to brush himself off before readying himself for battle once more. He saw a great opportunity, and he snatched it— as she was running away, he noticed her steadily coming closer to him. Crouching down a moment, morphing into a tiger, he pounced into the air, His large paw came crashing downward onto the villainess's shoulder. Shocks of energy radiated from where their foe collapsed.

The other Titans stared at Beast Boy with alarm, "What?" he inquired, looking behind him at his teammates, but Beast Boy soon found himself yelping in shock as he was lifted off of the ground.

The villainess rose to her feet once more with her fiery yellow eyes glowing; her hand gripping his neck tightly while sending a range of shocks through the young shape shifter before she threw him away from her. The Titans wanted to rush in and save their friend, but the electric field the woman was giving off had prevented them from doing so.

The electricity had yet to subside, and the villainess looked tired and battle-worn from the fight. She glared at the Titans once last time before running off with flashes and sparks still trailing her, "Let her go." Robin instructed, seeing that Cyborg, and Kid Flash looked intent on following her.

Beast Boy cringed on the ground, _Well it looked like a good opportunity…_

His eyes flickered open; he tried to blink away the blurriness clouding his eyesight. The other Titans surrounded him as he struggled to open his eyes, and sit up. Finally, he felt his teammates pull him to the sitting position. The green-eyed boy was finally able to open his eyes all the way, "Are you okay?" a feminine voice asked.

"Starfire?" he blinked again seeing only darkness as he felt only the heat from the others around him. He had been blinded from the attack, "I can't see!!" he yowled loudly.

The other Titans looked at one another in anguish and disbelief. None of them had really incurred such a disability. Raven parted the sea of confused Titans. She kneeled in front of Beast Boy, her clear purple eyes piercing his clouded green gaze. Her fingertips rested on his forehead, closing her eyes, a blue glow surrounded her hands. Electricity radiated into her hands. She grimaced as a pain hit her.

Finally she removed her hand from his forehead. Wooziness overtook her; she tipped to one size, and then the other. Cyborg took put a hand on her shoulder to steady her. Beast Boy was pulled to his feet by Robin and Starfire, "Can you stand?" the Boy Wonder asked.

"Yeah." He muttered, blinking his eyes, "I still can't see though."

"I made your blindness temporary." Raven responded, "That was very strong spell that she used on you."

Once the Titans returned to the Tower, they placed Beast Boy in the medical bay (despite his protests). The others disappeared except for Robin and Raven. The dark-haired boy glanced at his bed-ridden teammate and then at his dark-haired one, "What did you mean by spell Raven?"

"The woman we fought today was no simple electric-powered villainess." The girl paused, breathing out a heavy sigh, "What she did to Beast Boy was not merely to injure him, but to spite him for trying to stop her. When I went to heal him, I realized that the electric energy hadn't been focused to short-circuit his optical nerve like I'd thought. Instead, she'd zapped him with all kinds of negative energy that would've done a lot more than blind him…"

Robin's eyes widened as she spoke, "What else?" he almost sounded afraid to ask.

Raven seemed lost in thought, staring at Beast Boy as he slept on the med cot. She blinked, and looked at him again, "Oh, sorry," she shook her head solemnly, "Think of her powers like those of a snake's venom. It would've gradually shut down all of his major body functions if it would've stayed in him." Her eyes looked watery at that moment, her face showing no signs of distress however, "I want to watch over him, and make sure that I absorbed all of that bad energy."

Robin gave her another worried look. Raven gave a small laugh, "Don't worry. When I absorbed the energy, I converted it to my own kind. The energy was too new to hurt me. It hadn't taken a firm hold of its host yet. All I know is, that this all very serious. And if we cross that witch again, we should all steer clear of getting too close."

Robin nodded whole-heartedly, "I'm going to tell the others that he's going to be okay then. And let me know if his condition worsens or anything."

Raven sighed as her leader disappeared from sight. She slowly walked to her friend's bedside and pulled a seat up close to him. She allowed another deep sigh to pass, before and few tears rolled down her cheeks, _What I didn't tell him, is that if this were ever to happen again, I'm not so sure that I'd be able to save anyone…_

**_Total ownage. I woke up-- with my sight in-tact—and found Raven holding my hand and resting her head on my shoulder. : ) …. Yes I just used a smiley-- so what!! Boys can use smiley's…_**

**_Anyway, my favorite thing about going shopping with a girl would be me being able to see how awesome she looked in what she tried on—now that I can actually see and I can actually appreciate the gift of sight—and being able to re-assure her that she looks beautiful no matter what. Yeah, that'd be the best thing. :…I almost used another smiley…_**

**_Haha brackets don't count—I'm getting off-topic again. And about the heart being twisted in knots thing, I was going to ramble onward about how Raven probably doesn't care about me that way or whatever, but I'm pretty convinced that she does, but she's too stubborn to admit it, and too reluctant to talk about it._**

**_: D_**

**_-B.B._**

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Woot! Chapter 4 in-progress. I'm still unsure how long this story will go. I have so much storyline to write still. Any commentary appreciated!


	4. November 23rd

Okay, this chapter talks about a day different than is listed, it's like a whole chapter of flashback, so hopefully this doesn't confuse anyone. :) I think I should also mention that I am so surprized that I've still managed to be on track. About every week a new chapter. Whoo! I've never been able to do that before.

Also I should note that the time's BB uses are the times he starts writing, so that's why you'll see his journal writing throughout. I know that all of you understand that, but I just figured I'd confirm it to make sure that it's clear because I could see how it could be confusing.

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

SxStrngSamurai13: Thanks. I also hate it when writers write him as an idiot. Because he's like so totally not. Lol.

Raven'sWinterRaine: Ah, you must be asking about BB's blindness thing. Hmm...maybe. ;)

acosta perez jose ramiro: Thanks. I'll make sure not to disappoint.

Bitch-with-wit: Thank you for all the praise. I definitely don't hate Starfire. She'd a good character, and I knew that BB wouldn't dislike her-- and I was worried about it coming across that way, so I'm glad it didn't.

CLAREsaysHI: Thank you:)

titanfan45: Yay!!

LynetteRowan: Thanks. I try. :)

--

_**Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots...**_ Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic_ thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

--

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

P.S. The day and time that BB writes is not important. It was something I added to give it a more real feel.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

**

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**Explain This to Me**

_**November 23rd 2007 8:45:37 pm**_

_**It's kinda late for me. I'm normally not so spacey-- but boy, does that girl have a way with words. And when I write this, I'm writing about what happened on the 20th-- I was going to write about it yesterday, but after my encounter with almost permanent blindness I forgot.**_

_**So as I sat in the living room...**_

Raven descended the stairs with a scowl evident. When she saw that delinquent of a boy sitting on the couch, she raised her posture even higher and walked as though she were quite better than he. She strolled into the kitchen and began brewing a pot of tea. Beast Boy wore quite a grin on his face—she was so totally pissed—at him that was.

Beast Boy was so proud of his childish prank, but Raven didn't seem to think so. He thought that the worst she would do was scowl and sulk-- but boy was he wrong…

The dark-haired girl walked into the living room. Purposely, she sat down next to Beast Boy and gave him quite a bump via hip contact. Beast Boy raised a brow, but continued sitting right next to his teammate, "Nice weather we're having." She sounded quite calm despite her stormy demeanor.

"Yeah," now Beast Boy found himself relaxing, still slightly on edge, but mostly relaxed, "Shame that we Titans don't have any plans today."

And that was what did it, he'd set her off.

"You did it! I know you did!!" she exclaimed jumping to her feet and glaring down at him. He was extremely happy that she had control over her emotion-fueled powers, or else she would've sent him flying.

"Did what? I don't know what you're talking about!" he cried, scooting away from her.

Raven paced the room a few times huffing. She glared scornfully at the carpet as though it were mocking her, and in these brief moments, Beast Boy was slowly creeping away from her. He'd almost made it to the stairs, but she cut him off. Raven guarded the stairwell, crossing her arms, "Why would you do something so childish to me? I expected so much better from you."

The green changeling began to back away again, "Geez Rae—It's not that bad." But he couldn't contain his snickers.

Raven punched him squarely in the shoulder. And then again. Another time. She was about to strike him again, but noticed that her pot of water was boiling over. She stared pensively at her prey and then at her water—she'd never been so angry with him—ever. Beast Boy looked ready to bolt upstairs, but she finally caved to the water.

But as he ran upstairs she threw a few dishes at him, "And don't come back down here until you're ready to apologize!!" she shrieked, her anger finally spent.

Sighing, she set the pot onto a cold oven grate. She hadn't realized how she'd just let her anger control her only a few heartbeats ago. She wanted to blame it on the fact that she knew she didn't have to worry about her telepathic powers anymore. She knew good and well that if she'd thrown a tantrum like that before the defeat of Trigon, the Tower wouldn't be standing. It felt refreshing to finally express exactly how she felt to the annoyance that was Beast Boy.

Beast Boy peeked around the corner to which he'd fled. He watched her mend the mess from the pot. Quirking his ears to the delicate sounds her fingertips and voice were making. He decided against braving her wrath once more, he'd only managed to dodge those plates by the skin of his teeth.

_**Her and her aim…**_

He'd almost made it back to his room, when a deep voice addressed him, "That was some fight, heh."

"Cyborg, you have no idea." He replied, entering his room.

The half-metal man followed his friend into his room, "So what'd ya do this time to get her so tweaked anyway?"

"You mean you didn't see?"

"Well sorry I value my face." Cyborg retorted staring pointedly at the young boy.

Beast Boy stuck his tongue out, "I cut her hair. Straight across so now it's pretty short…"

"And?" Cyborg prodded, knowing that Beast Boy had done more than that.

"I kind took all the books from her bookcase and hid them under my bed." He lifted the covers of his bed up to reveal a large stack of books.

Cyborg let out a long, hearty laugh. When he'd finally composed himself again, he scolded him, "You know how childish that is? And how uncalled for that is, right?"

"She still hasn't explained to me why she went on that date with Kid Flash. Or why she had so much time for Robin, but not for me. She hasn't even addressed it. So now we're even."

"Hmm, I don't know about that B. She knows it was you, and she doesn't seem to be taking too kindly to this."

"Right now, I don't care."

_**Sensitive Beast Boy is gone. I'm going to get her to spill one way or another.**_

Later that day however, Beast Boy found that he was having a hard time finding some things in his own room. He couldn't find his comics, and some of his clothing was missing—

**_Some?! Try all. She took everything out of my closet. The only outfit I have is the one on my back. Okay, Raven—you're asking for it._**

Beast Boy wandered downstairs looking for Raven. He glanced around the living room finding all of the Titans except for the one he was seeking. He darted upstairs to the roof, and found what he was looking for. Raven was meditating on the far side of the Tower. He stalked up to her, "Hello Raven."

"What happened to 'Rae'?" she mocked, not even bothering to pry an eye open.

He huffed at her snide remark, "What happened to throwing dishes? Hmm Tantrum Queen?"

Raven visibly tensed; she felt waves of anger threatening to overtake her like earlier, "I'm not in the mood to argue with you." She chided while trying to reclaim her inner peace. She'd been meditating ever since the early morning incident. She didn't feel like herself, and she was trying to figure out why she'd snapped so suddenly.

"Come on little Rae-Rae, don't you want to confess to something? You know, apologize?" he wasn't about to let her off that easy. He was so defiantly determined to rile her up that all reason and logic was thrown aside—all that mattered was his ego.

And that was all it took—Raven stood up—anger flared in her eyes, "Quit it now."

"I'm just saying—oof—"she'd tackled him mid-sentence.

"Why are you doing this?!" she cried, pinning his strong form to the pavement, "I don't understand."

Beast Boy was about to revel in his triumph of making her crack, but then his sensitive ears heard something in her voice that was not traditional of her—fear. He stared up into her confused amethyst eyes, "What's wrong with you Raven?" his voice was now laced with concern.

Raven let go of his arms, and backed away from him. Her fearful eyes were the last image burned into his mind before she shot off in a blue streak. He stood up once more and brushed himself off.

_**Okay, my ego trip is over now. She was genuinely scared of something—I don't think it's me though. I couldn't tell. All I could feel was fear. And this worries me. So I went downstairs, and against my better judgment, I went into her room.**_

Beast Boy wandered into her room, and glanced around the floor—looking for any trace of a clue. He needed to find out what had her so spooked. He was going to stop snooping about her room when he realized something different that he hadn't recognized before. He stared up at the long red tapestry that hung on her left wall. A black gryphon was emblazoned onto it with flames and electricity surrounding it.

Beast Boy looked behind him and around the room once more, before he deemed it safe to pull back the tapestry. He only saw the door that was behind the tapestry for a moment before Robin beckoned him. The green-eyed boy stared at the strange new addition to her room once more before he darted out the door.

Robin walked in front of Beast Boy at a brisk pace, "Do you know where Raven is?"

"No. How should I know?" he replied lethargically. Just because he was worried about her, didn't mean that he was going to reveal that he was the one who chased her away. He wasn't that stupid.

"Well, I think you do," he snapped, as they entered the main room, "Starfire said that she saw you two arguing on the roof, and she saw Raven fly off."

"Okay, you caught me." he replied snidely.

"Beast Boy, this is serious. She turned her communicator off."

The changeling stared at Robin in disbelief, "What?"

"Then we'll have to go without her." Robin stated grimly.

"Go where without her?" he asked.

"There's been another attack mid-Jump City. It's some kind of creature. It'd be nice to have all of the team." He glared pointedly at Beast Boy.

"C'mon Rob, we can scold him later." Cyborg said, beginning to run towards the door out.

"Yes. Let's kick the butt." Starfire giggled, "I made a funny."

"Hah, I taught her that." Beast Boy pointed out while following the other two. Robin finally followed after them.

**_Then in the midst of battle, I remembered something from a long time ago…_**

"_C'mon Rae, I absolutely have to show this cool place I found!" Beast Boy exclaimed jumping up and down, and tugging her by the arm._

"_Well it must be cool if you're using words like 'absolutely'." She retorted finally succumbing to his wishes._

"_Ouch. That hurt Raven." He grinned, too elated to care if she poked fun at him._

_After the two had descended the stairs of the Tower, he led her to the beachside. Beast Boy glanced back at her, and pointed towards the ocean before morphing into a falcon and flying further away from shore. She followed after him a few moments later; gliding steadily beside him while he dipped and weaved around her occasionally._

_Finally Beast Boy swooped downward to a little grey stone island. It was barely big enough for two people. Raven glanced at him curiously, "This is the cool place you wanted to show me?"_

"_No, it's underneath this rock. There's a water tunnel that leads into a cave. But you can just shift through this stone, it'll lead to it."_

"_Just how did you find this? It's so far from the Tower."_

"_Practicing long glides, and swimming in deeper water." He replied simply, before diving into the water as an otter._

_Raven took a deep breath before descending into the grey stone "island". When she re-emerged, she found herself in a damp dark cave. There were only a few shafts of light peeking through the small holes in the rocks. She felt cold ocean air waft over her. Shivering, she waited for Beast Boy to appear._

_A loud splash sounded behind her, and she nearly jumped as a green otter came clambering over the spiny sea rocks. The otter shook its fur, fluffed it out and twitched its whiskers before returning to human form. He grinned at her, "C'mon."_

_He followed her down a winding path within the cave. And then suddenly, the cave's high ceiling melted into a short opening barely large enough for a greyhound. Raven glanced at Beast Boy whom was barely visible in the almost nonexistent light, "It's in this next room—just phase through."_

_He morphed into a cat before slinking through the broad short opening. The heroine hesitated for a moment—it wasn't that she didn't trust him, she was just worried about what she would find on the other side of the rocks. Once she phased through the cave wall, her eyes met a wonderful sight._

_Beast Boy walked to her side, "Told you it was cool."_

_She was in complete awe as she looked around the cave. Crystals had formed the entire back wall, and crystals littered the floor. In the center however was a large orb of flattened, smooth grey rock. The two stood on the little, stone foot bridge that led to the crystal cave they'd found._

"_There's a crystal pool on the far side." He spoke again, breaking her from her awe-struck state._

_Raven smiled her special smile, before following him across to the crystal pool. Staring down into the clear water, she could see a few jagged crystals and stalactites in the bottom. He clasped her hand and she looked up at him, "You know what else is amazing about this place? We're the only two who can get here. The water tunnel is only big enough for small mammals. It could be our special place."_

_Raven found that as she stared into his bright eyes, there was something different about the way he was looking at her—something different about the way he'd called it their 'special place', "Thanks for showing me this place. It's beautiful. But we should be getting back…"_

The lumbering creature was about to pound Beast Boy's semi-conscious form again, but Robin's flying kick set it off-balance and squealing. Starfire lifted Beast Boy up, "Friend, are you okay?"

The green-eyed boy blinked his eyes open, "I know where she is." He gasped, flying upward out of her grasp. His broad wings flapping as fast as he could before he dived into the water. Spiraling up the water tunnel, he quickly rushed through the cave to the end where he'd shown her the crystals.

He found her sitting in the middle of the grey stone meditating. Beast Boy bounded up to her in dog form while yipping loudly. She glanced down at the green dog, "Leave me alone."

He resumed his human form, "We need your help Raven."

The words had barely left his mouth before she'd taken him by the arm and phased the roof. She soared quickly over the ocean to the aide of her friends. Beast Boy finally wiggled free of her grip and flew after her on his own so he could lead the way. When they arrived on the scene, she worried that she might be too late.

Glancing around at the damaged vehicles, and upturned lamp posts, she felt guilt hit her again. A loud roar signaled the two to the creature's location. Raven and Beast Boy rushed full speed towards the large, scaly creature.

"Raven!" Starfire cheered, before pummeling the giant toad-like creature.

"Feel free to join in." Robin smirked, before slamming bo stick first into the creature's side.

Cyborg was focused on placing well-charged blasts into the creature's backside so he offered no greeting. Beast Boy charged into the creature as a rhino, but Raven flew to Starfire's side. In the few abrupt moments that followed, the creature become overwhelmed with spiraled blasts of green and black, shots of blue blinding it, severe kicks to its abdomen, and a finally a barrage of razor cuts across its form.

After one last final strike, the creature came tumbling downward. The tongue lolled outward, signifying death. The Titans glanced towards one another, and then back at the monster.

_**So once we returned home, I was mentally scared—kidding. Robin and Cyborg just 'grounded' me for endangering the team by arguing with Raven—she left on her own I don't see how that's my fault. But whatever.**_

"Raven?" Beast Boy spoke, knocking on her door, "I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have done any of this. I just wanted to know why you didn't talk to me about ditching a couple of days ago."

Raven slid the door open, "It's okay. I'm sorry too. But I have to be alone now, so I'll talk to you about it later okay?"

"Okay," she began to shut the door again, but he added, "You know you can always talk to me about anything right?"

Raven paused, her face blank before it warmed into a smile, "Yeah, I know." The door slid shut.

_**Alright, so later Raven finally explained what happened the day we were supposed to have lunch. She told me that after she'd finished the papers for Robin, that Kid Flash had stopped by, and wanted some 'girl' advice because he and Jinx we're having a bit of an argument—Starfire was also there—which my source hadn't informed me cough Cyborgcough. He overheard Raven making plans with Kid Flash, and that's how I knew in the first place.**_

_**—and it wasn't a date--**_

_**Raven said she'd give me a black eye if I ever called it that again. : P**_

_**-B.B.**_

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Chapter 5 up soon. :P 


	5. November 24th

Alright, dates might be somewhat important if you're trying to keep things straight now. I should mention that it seems easiest for me to update on Fridays, so try and bank on checking fridays. :)

On another major note, I should write that not every chapter is going to pick up where the last one left off. That's the beauty of it. I'll explain what's most important to the plot lines through BB's journal, or through 3rd person. So I'm sorry to those of you who might' been looking forward to seeing Beast Boy's and Raven's apologies to each other. I just don't think it's important as a whole what they say. All apologies are pretty much the same right? ;)

Also I should note that the time's BB uses are the times he starts writing, so that's why you'll see his journal writing throughout. I know that all of you understand that, but I just figured I'd confirm it to make sure that it's clear because I could see how it could be confusing.

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

SxStrngSamurai13: By short I mean boy-cut. Let's just say BB was being particularly nasty in that moment of time. And thanks again for your patronage. : D

Raven'sWinterRaine: Of course. I like where this story is going so far too. Lol.

acosta perez jose ramiro: Thanks, as usual, I will continue writing-- even if it kills me. : P

CLAREsaysHI: Thanks. When I wrote that Starfire bit, I didn't really know if it sounded like her at all. But it made me laugh so I kept it.

titanfan45: : D

--

_**Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots...**_ Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic_ thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

--

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

**

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**

**Explain This to Me******

_**November 24th 2007 8:53:03 am**_

_**I'm lost. Deserted in the wide expanse of a dark forest, and all I can hear are the wild calls of animals—distressed animals—lost in the madness we all share…**_

Beast Boy felt fear in his every fiber as he tip-toed through the forest. He scanned the area fully; looking over every palm frond, bush, and flower. A loud howl sounded in the distance. He quirked his ears and tried to figure out what kind of animal it sounded like to him—first he thought wolf, but then gorilla came to mind, and that notion was soon washed away into elephant.

It was driving him crazy. He couldn't figure his way out of the forsaken forest. He felt like he was wandering in circles. Everything seemed so foreign to him, the only thing he recognized was the sound of waves crashing on the shore and the voices of those distraught animals in the distance.

He morphed into an animal to see if he could understand what they were saying. A swell of chaotic sounds washed and melted into his hearing; a chorus of voices rose above the sounds chanting; _Riona, Riona!! Save us_... The changeling resumed human form again, rubbing his sensitive ears, trying to free them from the spell-like hold that trapped them.

_**And then I wake up. And I don't know what any of it means. I've finally decided to talk to Raven about it. She's all-knowing about this mystical stuff and maybe my dream means something. Maybe it's something important I need to know to protect my family…**_

"Raven?" he spoke, knocking on her door. He waited a few moments before knocking again. He knocked one last time before entering her room. She wasn't in her room, so he shut the door and walked downstairs. He noticed Robin and Cyborg lounging on the couch, "Hey, have you guys seen Rae?"

"I thought she told you not to call her that." Cyborg mentioned, intentionally trying to irritate his green teammate.

"Thank you for correcting me Raven." the emerald-eyed boy snidely remarked, while Cyborg wore an expression of mock irritation, "Really, have you seen her-- it's important."

Robin answered, "She went off with Starfire some time ago. They didn't say where they were going though."

"About how long ago?"

"They left a couple hours ago. I'm sure they'll probably be back soon."

Beast Boy nodded dimly and disappeared upstairs. He wandered up to the roof, and leaned on the railing while staring emotionless into the city.

_**As I stared out at the city, I tried to remember when these dreams started happening...**_

"Raven, Starfire!" the teenager greeted with elation, "Where did you go?"

Raven and Starfire landed on the roof next to him. Starfire merely flipped her hair forward to show that a considerable amount had been hacked off, "It was time for a change." Starfire mused, "It was being troublesome."

"Next time we'll bring our tracking collars, Master." Raven remarked, brushing past him.

"Raven, I was just worried." his eyes full of concern.

She glanced back at him, her eyes sparkling crystal with worry, "So am I."

_**But for some reason , Starfire didn't seem worried about anything.**_

Downstairs, Beast Boy expected the Titans to gather around to hear what happened while the girls were in town, but the only thing that transgressed was the shock of Starfire's haircut, "It looks nice." as Robin put it.

Raven had disappeared from sight again however. Beast Boy stalked upstairs.

_**As soon as I think I have her figured out, she does something to change it up and confuse me again. She's been acting strange to say the least.**_

He knocked on her door, a little more violently than necessary. The door flew open, "What Robin?!" she exclaimed, her anger fizzled, "Oh it's you. Sorry, come in."

_**What would Robin be doing to make her act such a way?**_

Raven's room was a messy wreck. It looked as though a hurricane wind had swept all of her books everywhere. The green-eyed boy made a conscious effort to step over and avoid all of the floor's obstructions, "Let me guess, you're re-arranging your room? " she was silent so he cracked a joke, "Because I am so not moving your bookcases again."

An unsure smile graced her features, "Is there something you wanted?"

_**I knew what I wanted to ask her about, but I wanted to know if she was okay. And with Raven, it was like one question per customer...**_

"Are you okay?" he tilted his head curiously as though a different perspective would help him discern the truth.

"I'm fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do." she settled herself on her bed and pulled a thick book into her lap.

_**I was going to protest. Demand that she spill her heart to me. But I guess something within me was feeling exceptionally sneaky today, so I just backed out of her room, and decided to come back later that night when she was asleep so I could snoop.**_

_**I had to know what was making her so jumpy, and what did Robin have to do with all of this? Was he the reason?**_

_**...sigh...Drama. As Cyborg puts it.**_

Midnight fell on Jump City. Stars glimmered into the Titans' giant landscape window. There was only a small sliver of light from the moon that night so it left the main room feeling dark and foreign. A small green stoat crept along the hallway floors. The animal shifted its vision from one side to the other.

Its nose twitched as it crossed the hallway. Slinking down the final hallway that would lead to a Titan's door. The stoat looked up at the nameplate, squinting, it tried to read the human words. Finally deciding that it had taken the right path, it morphed into a mole. Slipping its claws into the door edge it slowly slid the door open.

Re-shifting its form, it resumed the form of a stoat. It scampered nimbly across the floor. Leaping and bounding over the piles of books, it made it's way up to a dark-haired girl's bed. The stoat studied her sleeping form for a moment. It wasn't convinced that she was asleep-- completely.

"Raven?" a dark figure shadowed her door.

The stoat hopped off of the bed and slid under the bed sham. His eyes peered out from under the bed as the figure walked towards the dark-haired girl, "It's time to go."

"Sorry Robin, I must have dozed off."

Time to go? Go where? the little stoat wondered as he watched the two figures disappear through her door. 

Now there was a choice to make-- follow the two and find out directly what was going on, or snoop around Raven's bed while they were gone. He opted to follow the dark-haired pair. His short legs were too slow to keep up with them however, so he morphed into a cat.

Once Robin and Raven were downstairs, Robin sat on his motorcycle. Raven looked skeptical as he motioned for her to join him, but reluctantly she did. The green cat morphed into a bat to follow the two once the motorcycle sped away. Beast Boy couldn't help but continue thinking, _Something hidden is never a good thing._

The motorcycle stopped suddenly, "Are sure this is the right way?" the boy inquired. The bat perched himself on the corner of the building they had stopped in front of.

Nervousness pricked at the girl, so she gripped his waist tighter, "Yes. Just keep going."

Jealously rose in Beast Boy's veins; _I'm the one she should be nervously holding onto..._

Finally, the pair seemed to be at the end of their journey. The green bat felt relief and melted downward into a raccoon. He took a moment to soak up his surroundings and found that the three had journeyed far from the city limits and were now near the forest on the outskirts of town, _There's something eerily familiar about all of this..._

"Raven, why did you lead us here?" Robin asked impatiently.

"I don't know..." she breathed as though half-awake, "It was in my dream I think." and then a fiery comeback scorched him, "This was your idea remember? You're the one who had to make a big deal about dreams and the sorceress we fought a couple of days ago. She's gone isn't she?"

"I have a feeling she'll be coming back." Robin replied evenly, trying to quell his own firestorm of a temper.

Beast Boy wondered if he should reveal himself, and explain how he'd been having dreams about forests as well. He would be in significant trouble for tailing them, however. And truthfully, he didn't want Robin sticking his nose in things he didn't understand.

"That may be so, but my dreams of an electric forest don't denote that. It was a plain, ordinary dream."

"A plain, ordinary dream that you've been having ever since you absorbed that negative energy from Beast Boy."

"It's only been two days Robin. It could just be that my body had a bit of an adverse reaction to the energy."

"But you assured me that it was gone-- that there was nothing to worry about." he quirked a suspicious brow at her.

"I'm fine. Can we just go home?" she sighed, "It's cold and I'm exhausted."

Robin gave her another look, before returning to the motorcycle, "Alright." he glanced back up at the forest once more before speeding off.

"What a let-down..." Beast Boy grumbled once he'd returned to human form, "At least I'm not the only one who's having strange dreams."

_**I don't know if that's what got Raven on-edge about Robin, but I will find out what. **_

_**I can promise you that.**_

Early the next morning, Beast Boy made his way to Raven's room, "Raven?" he spoke, knocking on her door. He waited a few moments before knocking again and entering her room. The book piles had grown considerably larger since yesterday. She wasn't in her room however.

He flipped out his communicator and saw that her locator's signal was placed in her room. He was about to question its reasoning, but Raven came walking into her room from behind the red tapestry that hung on her left wall. She looked up from the books she was carrying, and saw that he was standing there in awe, "What are you doing in here?" her voice sounded more nervous than irritated though.

"I wanted to talk to you about some dreams I've been having-- but a better question is--what's behind the tapestry?"

Raven gave him another cautious-contemplative look, "Alright, but you can't tell the others. I'm only showing you this because you found me out."

She pulled back the tapestry and pushed the door open. A dark, chilly wind swept upward and slapped them roughly. Together they crept down the spiraling stairs, and found a small oval-shaped room filled with books and a chair-less desk in the middle. He glanced around the room, "What is all of this Rae?"

"It's become my own personal Hell." she replied emotionless, "Robin has been hell-bent on figuring this electric sorceress out ever since he saw what she was capable of." she turned to face him, "And so have I. But it's running me ragged."

"So that explains the mess then? You're searching for something?" His ears twitched in amusement.

"Yes, and no. We've found some of what we're looking for." and then a deep sigh escaped her, "But the rest is still a mystery."

He felt her frustration and disappointment, but found himself saying, "Hey, you look kinda cold."

"It's nothing. I'm fine." she replied with a coldness that mirrored her former-self.

"I don't know-- you look like you're freezing." he playfully suggested, striding towards her with a spark of challenge in his voice.

"Beast Boy, I'm not. Really." she backed away and tried to skirt away from him.

The scene was set; he was on one side of the desk and she was on the other. Their eyes met and for a heartbeat, neither knew what the other was thinking. And then he acted, skidding across the table with lightning-quick agility he wrapped his arms around her, and hugged her tightly to his chest, "I'll warm you up!"

"Beast Boy!" she shrieked worming away from his playful grasp, "Please be serious for once." her gaze pierced his own, but behind her determination to be serious danced a playful little girl who was dying to be let out.

The green-eyed boy gave her another flirty look, but conceded from his claim of her inherent coldness. She felt a fluttering and tingling sensation when he looked at her that way, but she shook those feelings away quickly and turned to him again, "So about those dreams?"

_**After I explained my dream to her, she only seemed more apprehensive. Yeah, I learned that word today. She used it sometime over the course of our little pow- wow. Hah. I love those pretty eyes of hers, but how it hurts me to see them clouded with such doubt...and guilt?**_

"Hey, c'mon Rae, we'll figure it out. Why haven't you told the rest of us? It'll be quicker if we all look together." he walked toward her as he spoke.

She continued to face the bookcase, "Because," her hand was reaching for a book she couldn't quite reach, she was about to use her powers but he'd already reached from behind her to get it, "Robin told me," she turned around to face him, he was only a few inches from her, "it was too dangerous for..." she looked up at him as he leaned over her.

He wore a half-lidded dreamy look, "Here Rae," he handed her the book.

Losing herself in the calmness of the moment, she found herself sharing his half-lidded gaze. But when he began to lean towards her, a blush washed over her features, and she pushed him aside, "It's too dangerous for the others to know." she walked to her desk, "Besides, Robin doesn't want to tell the others until we know more concrete information."

"That makes sense." he replied, "But now I'm in on it too."

"No, I haven't told you anything." she looked up to him as he approached her.

_**At that moment, I wanted to cup her face and tell her that everything would be okay. That I was here for her. That I wanted to protect her and the others. **_

_**But I feared her reaction.**_

"You haven't. But that's not important. What is important is protecting each other, our team and our city."

"You've certainly gotten taller..." she mused, looking away from his intense gaze, "You should go now. Robin and I can handle this alone."

"Raven, that dream means something. It's important to all of this somehow. I know--"

"How do you know?! How could you know?" she turned upon him, with that same fear sparkling in her lilac eyes.

"Instinct." he bit out, stalking towards the door, "And whatever's been scaring you these past few days, needs to stop." She was about to retort, but he cut her off, "Because I'll always be here for you whenever you need me."

Raven watched him disappear up the spiral staircase again. And then she felt an emptiness shroud around her. A chilly breeze whipped at Beast Boy as he stepped up the last stair; he felt reluctant to continue on his way, but he knew that she would be too stubborn to listen to him now.

_**I can't believe I had enough guts to tell her that. But it's how I feel. It's my responsibility as a hero. As a Titan. And I'm not about to let some stupid sorceress mess it up.**_

_**I can promise you that.**_

_**-B.B. **_

* * *

Chapter 6 up soon. :P 


	6. November 25th

**ATTN: PLEASE READ FIRST:** I would just like to thank you all for the amazing amount of support you've all poured into my work. I'm so happy that you all enjoy my story as much as I enjoy writing it. And I hope you all continue to enjoy what I've written and I'd love to hear from all of you!!! Thanks again. Wysti

**EDIT:** I fixed Speedy's hair problem. I always thought it was blonde for some reason.

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

SxStrngSamurai13: Thanks as usual. ; )

Raven'sWinterRaine: You'll probably think this chapter is cute then.

acosta perez jose ramiro: Thanks. Robin always has to be a sneak everyone knows that. Lol.

CLAREsaysHI: You it's funny but I just realized how 'secret lover'-ish those scenes sounded. My bad. : p

titanfan45: Lol. You're not the only one.

Raven of Alaska: Maybe. If he's lucky. : p

azarielthebladed: I was looking for a way to describe BB's protective nature, and that describes it perfectly.

The One Without a Name: Don't worry I still have about 7 chapters written with more to come. ; ) This is going to be my longest story yet.

Agent of the Divine One: Thank you! I'll be updating on Friday.

Tears of Trees: Thanks. I really like writing in this style. It lets me have a lot of creative rights.

--

_**Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots...**_ Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic_ thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

--

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

**Explain This to Me******

_**November 25th 2007 11:02:43 pm **_

_**"People believe what they want to believe…" **_

_**Raven just told me like the most depressing thing ever.**_

_**"...despite reason, and cause, and anything that might prove otherwise..." **_

_**She said that she couldn't sleep; not after what she saw anyway. She seems to be sleeping pretty well on my bed however.**_

_**"...if their eyes tell them something is true, then they believe it above all things..."**_

_**So as of right now I'm finding my faith in integrity fading. If someone like Starfire can't be honest and true, what makes me think I even have a chance? **_

**_"...but sometimes eyes lie to their owners..."_**

_Raven wandered upstairs after a long day of combat training, near run-ins with potentially harmful situations (all of them cleverly avoided by Robin's quick thinking). She was merely relieved to still have all of her limbs intact…which was more than could be said for Cyborg. During one of their fights, the dastardly creature they were facing had taken his left arm completely off. _

_Slowly turning the corner that led into the next corridor, the dark-haired girl met a shocking sight… _

"Beast Boy, what are you doing?" a yawning voice asked from afar. Ever since Beast Boy's transformation from a bratty sixteen year old into a somewhat mature nineteen year old man, he'd been slowly re-arranging his room into a more livable and spacious set-up. His bed was pushed into the far corner and his wardrobe stood at the foot of his bed. A nightstand stood off to the right side where an alarm clock sat (an alarm clock he never really used).

"Nothing." He replied casually while minimizing his journal. His computer was quite far from the bed; she'd never suspect a thing.

Raven sat up on his bed and folded her left leg under her right. She then realized that sometime over the course of her invasion, she'd fallen asleep. She furrowed her brows and glared at the nice clean bed beneath her, "Since when are you so cleanly? Everything's so neat now…" total amazement clouded her voice.

"This has only been a recent adjustment. Cy just burst in here a couple of days ago and told me 'Get your green rear in gear and fix this horrible room'. And o'course I told him 'You're not my Mamma'." The boy paused dramatically, but Raven rolled her eyes, "He said 'Today, I am.' And the rest is history."

"Fascinating," Raven drawled in reply, "I asked for answer, not a life story." to which he stuck his tongue out in reply, "So, how long was I out?"

"Long enough for me to write your life story-- now scoot— it's bed-time for those of us who live during the daytime." He jumped onto bed, bouncing Raven upward as he did before he lay flat. He closed his eyes and folded his hands behind his head.

The dark-haired girl gave him a punch, "I'm not a vampire you know."

"You sit in a dark room all day—alone. With candles, occasionally." He kept his eyes shut as he spoke, yawning widely.

She was about to spur him with a clever retort, but decided to play his game. She bounced onto his bed hard enough to make him fall off the other side. Beast Boy fell off the bed with a loud thump, "Oh you've done it now!"

Raven gave him a teasing and defiant smile-- until he leapt on the bed and half-tackled her with his upper half over hers, "Beast Boy!" she gave his chest a hard shove, but he just laughed at her slight frustration.

"Hey Raven," he whispered.

She glared up at him, "What?"

"Tickle fight!" her eyes grew wide as he began to tickle her. She tried to suppress her urge to laugh as his fingers teased her stomach and the edge of her ribcage. He knew he could make her laugh if hit the right spot. He'd found this bit of information out quite awhile ago. It was an accident, but he knew it would come in handy one day.

And then he hit her ticklish spot—right under her kneecap. He thought it was so weird, but like he said—complete accident. His laughter was contagious, and soon the dark-haired sorceress found herself laughing as well. But after a few minutes of her girlish laughter, the two of them noticed the suggestive position that it had put them in.

Beast Boy let go of her leg and stared at her with a half-lidded gaze. Leaning forward, she felt shivers and butterflies, but turned her face away from him. He ended up kissing her cheek. Raven gave him another light shove, "Maybe I should go…"

"No. Please stay. I won't do it again. Promise." Worry filled his voice as he tried to persuade her to stay. The purple-eyed beauty rolled to one side allowing him to return to her side. Beast Boy yawned again, and found himself slipping into a deep sleep, "'Night Rae." He murmured.

She sighed, laying back comfortably as she recalled what had happened only a few hours earlier…

_The dark-haired heroine turned the final corner that led to her room. But surprise shook her to her roots—Starfire was backed against the wall with a auburn-haired figure looming over her. Raven was about leap forward into battle with this intruder, but then logic smacked her in the face at the realization that he was one of their own. _

_Unbelievingly, she stared forward as Starfire and Speedy made-out only a few steps from her door frame. No one could pin Starfire—she knew better than that. The red-head was there because she wanted to be. She knew that Robin and Starfire sometimes had a rocky relationship, but she couldn't believe that Starfire would actually cheat on Robin however. _

_Recently whenever she was feeling distressed with something, she'd seek out the company of the others. Normally, she would go to Starfire's room, but it was obvious why she couldn't do that tonight. Sometimes it would be Robin—his level-head always calmed her. But it would be too awkward to try and talk to him—she knew she'd probably accidentally blurt something out. She never bothered Cyborg. _

_So Beast Boy seemed to be her last resort…but deep in her heart she felt butterflies fluttering about. And truthfully, she couldn't stop hearing his words repeated over and over again, 'I'll always be here for you whenever you need me...'. Reluctantly, she knocked on his door. She was desperately trying not to blurt everything out at once. Beast Boy opened his door, wearing nothing but his PJ's (a white tank and blue plaid sweatpants), "Raven?" _

_She broke down and hugged him tightly. It took him a moment before he reacted. He hugged her back and led her into his room, "It's okay." He soothed while rubbing her back. _

_He had no clue what she was sobbing about, but shortly after she spilled what she'd seen, he understood entirely. Beast Boy felt shock ripple through him, "Are you sure? Why does this make you so sad?" _

_"Don't call me 'Rae'," she sniffled, "I don't know really. Just tired I guess." But subconsciously, she knew exactly why it bothered her, but she wasn't going to tell him that… _

_Before he had another chance to answer, Raven had fallen fast asleep in his arms. The green-eyed teen blushed, but knew exactly what to do. He laid her onto the bed, and walked to finish typing on the computer._

And that was when she remembered—he was typing. And she wanted to know what he was typing exactly. She glanced at the boy laying next to her momentarily, before rising from the bed and settling into the computer chair. She felt like she was spying on him, but she'd overheard from some of the other boys talking about his 'diary' or whatever he called it.

She placed her hand onto the computer mouse, and clicked on the word document that was still sitting in the bottom pane, "It's rude to go through people's things Raven." His voice whispered into her ear.

She nearly jumped as she minimized it again, "Sorry." she blushed. He stared at her with uncertainty; he wasn't exactly sure how long she'd been looking at his word document, "I didn't read it." She looked away from his intense gaze. She felt completely abashed to have been caught looking on his computer.

He placed a finger under her chin and titled her gaze upward gently, "Its okay Rae. Just get some sleep." he placed a small kiss on her forehead.

Her daze abruptly knocked away, "Why do you keep doing that?"

He began to walk towards the bed, but when he heard this, he turned to face her as his tired eyes met her confused ones, "Doing what?"

"Giving me kisses," but that sentence didn't hurt as much as the next one spurt from her mouth, "We're not together you know."

The green-eyed hero turned away from her accusatory gaze, "Maybe you should go find Starfire's room."

Raven furrowed her brows. _Who knew what could be going on in Starfire's room!?_

_I shouldn't think like that…_ she told herself.

**_When I told myself that she was an impeccable enigma, I meant it. This morning I woke up finding her laying next to me—fast asleep with her little hand resting on mine. I don't think she meant to do it on purpose. Truthfully, Cyborg was right, anyone can like anyone else—it's just a matter of getting them to admit it that's the problem._**

**_Now I'm even more surer—yes, more surer-- Raven does like me, but she's scared of those feelings because she'd never been allowed to feel anything before. I don't think she knows what to do with these feelings, and the only way I'm going to be able to put this relationship together is if I make the advances, because she's far too reluctant for it._**

**_-B.B._**

* * *

Chapter 7 up soon. :P Explanations too! Lol. 


	7. November 26th

I decided to update early again. I just get so restless, so sorry for continuing to change my schedule. Thanks again for all the support. This is so close to being the most popular story that I've written. : 3

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

SxStrngSamurai13: Lol. I guess if you meant'sexual tension forthewin' as in this story tackles a lot of topics, then yah. : P And I wish I could write more fluffiness, but plot points keep getting in the way. : (

Raven'sWinterRaine: Thanks, I really thought he was blonde for some reason. oo

acosta perez jose ramiro: Lol. That's just how she is, you know?

titanfan45: You know, I'm writing the story and even I was shocked that such a sub-plot came to me, but I'll roll w/it.

azarielthebladed: Thanks, and me too! Secret passages are awesomeness-ness. : P

Agent of the Divine One: Ah, so true. Thanks for your patronage. : )

CEO of Staples Business Dep: No it's all good. I'm just glad you reviewed, and truthfully it's a compliment if you could get so into the storyline that you didn't even stop to review. : D

CacahuetePoco: I was aiming for subtlety so that's good. 

wtncgirl09: I'd like to think it gives it an edge, and I was veryunsure about posting it.

Mr. Average: Thanks, I just thought it would be funny to poke at his occassional displays offemininity which emoticons can sometimes be considered.

iluvbb: Ah, I live for drama. Drama makes for good writing.

BoxofChocolates: Don't worry, much abliged.

--

**_Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots..._ **Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic_ thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

--

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

* * *

**Explain This to Me**

_**November 26th 2007 12:12:03 pm**_

_**I never honestly thought that it would come to this, but it seems that it has...**_

Beast Boy snuck down the hallway never troubling himself to transform. He knew that Raven and Robin were already long gone. He quickened his pace and disappeared into Raven's room.

**_I've been spending these past few nights trying to find out more about Robin and Raven's secret meetings. Apparently they meet at night and various other times during the day. Nothing set, just kinda arbitrary. The midnight meetings seem to be the only 'set' time but even then, they didn't go yesterday._**

The green-haired teen glanced around the book-littered desert that her room had become. He morphed into a raccoon and searched through the books. He glanced over the books, trying to find a clue or a hint that the two may be onto something. He bounded over a large pile and then another, and then distracted by how much fun he was having, he kept leaping over the books. 

Finally he tripped over an exceptionally high stack. Dazed he returned to human form and shook the dizziness away. But in his bout of clumsiness, he picked up a book that stood out from the others. _Tragic Discord__…_ he read to himself, realizing that she must've had more than one copy of the book she'd asked him to read.

He flipped through the pages, scanning the pages, his eyes stopped on a familiar word, "Riona," He read aloud, "Like from my dream." He'd always been under the impression that the books were pure fiction, but at that moment, he realized something was amiss, "I haven't gotten to this chapter yet—how would I know that name?" his lips quirked to the side, "Raven's talked about it a little bit, but I'm sure she's never mentioned this name before."

He read further down and found that Riona was the name of the heroine in the book. But it also mentioned that she was an electric sorceress. Beast Boy felt the weight of what he'd discovered, "The animals in my dream were crying for help. But why would they ask that evil sorceress for help?"

_**It's strange, but earlier today, Robin could not stop glaring at me. It was like he was mad at me or something. Like I knew something he didn't. But when he finally cornered me, I realized what he was pissed about.**_

"_Beast Boy, just what is up with Raven and you? I saw her coming out of your room this morning…" Robin questioned while pacing the expanse of his room._

_The green-eyed boy sat on the edge of Robin's bed and glanced around the room, "So what? She just came over last night, and fell asleep. So did I for that matter." He continued looking around his room scanning over the news articles._

"_Oh really? It doesn't matter? What did you two really do last night?" he quirked a brow._

"_Why am I getting the third degrees here? Why can't you just accept that Raven and I are friends and that we can sleep in the same room and have nothing "happen". We're not even going out, why would you even think that?" he squared his glare with Robin's._

"_It's 'third degree'. And that's not what I meant. What did you two talk about last night?"_

_Beast Boy stood up with fire in his emerald eyes, "What we talked about is none of your business." He stalked out of Robin's room and slammed the door behind him._

_Robin threw his door open, "You will tell me." He demanded, "As your leader. You will respect that."_

_Beast Boy had almost made it up the stairs before the dark-haired boy had challenged him. He stopped mid-step, "Robin, you're our leader. Not God." And then he disappeared around the corner._

_I have to know if Raven spilled anything to him... Robin thought, normally he trusted his teammates with this kind of information, but this time was different. He had to keep it a secret until they knew how to counter the sorceress's magic._

Beast Boy flipped the book shut, "I'll read my copy." He mused, before over turning more books. Half were opened to certain pages, others were marked with colored bookmarks and paper tabs. He just hoped that she hadn't kept up with where she'd placed each individual book or else she'd know that he'd been snooping.

He glanced upwards at the clock on her wall, and realized that despite his efforts he had been too slow to take advantage of Raven's leave. He had been timing their normal "midnight" outings and they normally averaged an hour and a half. The clock was slowly creeping past one-twenty-five.

The green-haired hero dropped the book he'd been perusing and walked towards her door. He carefully checked the hallways before deciding to morph into a stoat and dash down the hallway. He felt his little lungs soon strained as he picked up speed. Running a little faster, he dashed around the corner and smacked into a metal obstruction.

He returned to human form at this painful intrusion. He shook his head, and blinked his eyes until the blurriness in his sight melted away, "Cyborg?" he inquired looking up at his half-mechanical friend.

Cyborg let out a deep sigh, and while shaking his head disappeared around the corner. 

_**Man, I feel like a jerk. I forgot about Midnight Movie Madness with the Titans East. Cyborg and I had been planning to go ever since we had to miss the last one. And now I wonder, what does he think of me? **_

_**Does he know I've been spying on Robin and Raven? **_

_**So anyway, didn't get any sleep last night. I immersified myself in Tragic Discord…**_

_**Yes, immersified, I made it up okay?**_

_**Anyway, it's an interesting book. I still haven't figured out what the dream means, but I have a good idea. The heroine, Riona, was a princess in medieval times who ran away from her family. She wanted to become a sorceress, and she mastered a type of magic called Biomorphicism…**_

"B.?" Cyborg knocked on Beast Boy's door, "Can we talk?"

The sleep-deprived teen tore his eyes from the bright monitor, "I didn't know guys did "talks"." He sounded grouchy and continued typing.

**_But before she ran away, she was given a gryphon egg. And this egg grew into a magnificent green-winged gryphon she named Altair. He was all she had to keep her company in the whole world…_**

Cyborg opened the door and dragged Beast Boy from his seat, "It's important."

Once on the roof of the Tower, Cyborg paced while Beast Boy lay on the Tower's railing. The green-eyed boy kept his eyes closed merely relishing the sea breeze that caressed his face. A salty scent filled his nose; he felt like swimming, just diving off of the Tower and swooping into the water like a falcon. Cyborg began to speak, "It's about you. You've been acting strange to say the least."

Beast Boy's ears quirked, but he withheld his reaction.

"Like five days ago, the video game tournament—the one you've been yapping about for a month now—the one you won by the way— and it doesn't even phase you. You just shrugged it off." His voice was a slew of emotions, but Beast Boy couldn't really discern what his friend was getting at, "And then all this stuff about Raven. I think it's borderline obsession. She's changing you man."

A fire wrapped itself around the green boy's tongue, "Raven is not changing me."

"You forgot about Movie night last night. We've been waiting for that for awhile too. So that's why I don't understand what's got you so choked up. You're even starting to talk differently."

A whip of cold air hit Beast Boy's heart, he sat up and faced the ocean, "People change; I'm not going to be who you want me to be."

The half-mechanical man felt a string of frost tighten on his heart, "I'm not asking you to be anyone else. I just wanted know what's been bothering you lately." His voice whispered into a faltering tone, "And I said it was Raven, because she's the one you talked to me about last. I'm just looking out for you B. I just want my friend back."

The emerald-eyed boy felt himself turning frigid; maybe Cyborg was right after all. He had been quite flat lately, "I'm sorry I forgot about last night, but something more important came up." His voice sounded remorseful at first, but it fell quickly into a determined one.

"What could be more important? At midnight?" Cyborg's calm questioning disappeared and was replaced with an accusatory tone. 

Beast Boy's whipped head whipped around to face his teammate, "This team. Our well-being is at stake, and Robin doesn't even care."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm doing what is best for the team, and I'm doing it alone. I don't want you getting in the middle of it."

Cyborg said nothing; what could he say to that? Once Beast Boy had made up his mind about something, it was pretty final. It would be too hard to sway him otherwise. But a part of Cyborg died, he wouldn't boast to say that he and Beast Boy had always seen eye-to-eye, or that they'd been friends forever, but they were pretty damn close.

**_I guess shutting Cyborg out wasn't the best thing to do. But I have to figure this out on my own. I know I keep arguing that we have to tell the others blah, blah, blah, but I know that if I can't convince Robin and Raven first, then I what chance do I have?_**

"Who knew there would be a blizzard so early in the season." A voice remarked sarcastically.

He turned around to face the dark-haired girl he adored so much, "Blizzard?"

"Those were some pretty harsh remarks to your apparent 'best friend'—makes me wonder who you might freeze out next." She quirked a brow and folded her arms.

He narrowed his eyes at her, "Very funny. And is that some admiration I hear in your voice hm? I learned from the best, remember?"

Raven faltered, her arms dropped to her sides, "Sorry I asked. Robin wishes to speak with you."

Beast Boy pushed himself off of the railing and stalked towards the door, "Who knew you'd play messenger so well. How long are you going to let him boss you around?"

"I don't know—how long are you going to act like a jerk?" she retorted glaring pointedly at him.

He didn't trouble himself with a reply, and slammed the door behind him. Raven sighed and walked to the railing edge. Leaning over, she stared down at the grey rocks, and shimmering blue water. She felt pain washing over her; she hated how out of control things had become.

Robin was continuing to press secrecy onto her, despite the fact she knew that the others needed to know. Beast Boy would barely speak to her because of it. Because he was angry with her for not standing up to Robin like she had in the past. And to make things worse, he was fighting with Cyborg because of it all. Somehow she felt responsible.

She remembered one time before the defeat of Trigon, when she'd been on roof sitting on the railing…

_Raven took in a deep breath and then exhaled. A sudden wailing came from behind her, a banshee-likeness to it for sure, whipping her head around she saw Beast Boy running from the doorway towards her. She wondered if something bad had happened, but he had the biggest grin on his face while he ran past her and jumped off the Tower's edge._

_Her heart fluttered for a moment with a suspenseful gaze as his form continued to fall further and further downward. And at the last second he morphed into a falcon and swooped over the rocks and skimmed the water's surface creating a beautiful ripple of colors on the sunset waters._

_The falcon dipped lower, and then flapped wildly upwards before crashing into the ocean as an otter. The otter bobbed about and then disappeared under the salty sea crests. Red, orange, and peach still danced across the wide expanse of water as the sun sunk below the city sky line._

_Raven had never been more jealous in her whole life. _

Ever since that day, she'd promised herself that if she was ever free of her emotion-controlled powers that she would dive off the Tower like he had; wild, free, and completely unbounded. Like all of her problems would just be blown away.

She stared down at the mid-day waters. Granted, they weren't as beautiful as the sunset sky, or the even the night sky waters, but it would still be the same concept. She pushed away her self-doubt, and walked toward the door. Facing the sun blemished waters; she took off in a full run. 

Leaping upward, she let herself fall into a dive. Doubt hit her and she regained control of herself, flying upward. She'd only managed to drop a story before her fear took control of her again. Disappointment hit her, she still had so much reluctance to let go of the safe house she'd built for herself.

She looked down at the water once more, before phasing through the Tower. She ended up in the main room. Glancing around, she noticed that Starfire was the only one present. The orange-haired girl rushed to her side, "I saw you fall. What happened?"

"I tripped." She lied, avoiding Starfire's intense gaze. There had always been something about Starfire's gaze that made it almost impossible for the dark-haired girl to lie to her.

"Oh," Starfire was about to speak again when Beast Boy threw open the doors of the main room with Robin tailing after him.

"When are you going to listen to reason?" Robin argued.

"When are you?" he shot back. 

The two boys looked ready to fight to the death, but the Titans' alarm sounded drowning out all of the discord that was awash the room. Cyborg clambered down the stairs and rushed to the computer. Quickly punching in the access code a map flashed onto the screen. 

The Titans rushed down the street that was leading them to the scene of the emergency. Cyborg's car skidded to a halt and Robin swerved sharply to avoid the large creature's sudden appearance, "It came out of nowhere."

The lizard-like creature disappeared again. The Titans glanced towards one another in wonder. Until a deafening blow slammed into a nearby car, reawaking the Titans to the eminent danger they were in. 

Starfire and Raven locked gazes for a moment, and knew what to do. Charging their energy up, they shot a well-placed blow squarely into where the creature had been. A loud squeal was heard and the creature was viewable again, "It's not disappearing, merely becoming the invisible!" Starfire called down to the boy Titans.

The three nodded, and leapt forward into battle. Cyborg landed some punches against the creature's stubby legs. Robin countered the lizard's thrashing tail as it tried to drive him away. Starfire distracted the creature by darting just out of its grasp. Raven was looking for an opening in the attack, but as she was distracted, the thrashing lizard tried to bring its large clawed paw down onto her head.

She narrowly dodged out of the way. Cyborg and Robin were then knocked backward in the creature's efforts to escape. Beast Boy found himself growling, morphing into a gorilla. The lizard now pale in comparison to his size. He grasped each of the lizard's paws and twisted the creature around before letting it go to slam into the broken blacktop.

The other Titan's took advantage of the creature's dazed state. But as the Titan's took strategic spots around the creature for their next attack, Raven was caught off-guard again. The lizard's tail would've crashed onto her head if Beast Boy hadn't pushed her aside and taken the blow himself.

He fell unconscious. Raven lifted his form upward and placed him safely away from the battle, before diving back into the brawl. Finally, they had beat the lizard. 

_**Owww, Raven owes me big time. I so took a full blow for her.**_

"Quit whining," Raven chided, waving her hand over his bruised forehead, "It's not that bad."

Beast Boy took her hand and pressed it to his head, "Argh, heal faster." He groaned.

_**Ah, never mind, it was so worth it.**_

"I thought you were mad at me?" she asked, holding her hand steady as her powers continued to wash over him.

"You know me-- I can't stay mad at you." He grinned, "And I think this bump knocked some sense into me."

"I'll say." But it was Cyborg who had spoken.

"Cyborg," the younger boy breathed meekly, "I'm sorry I was such a jerk this morning—I don't know what came over me."

"Apology accepted." Cyborg's face cracked a smile.

Raven wore a small smile as she heard the two began to talk like they had before; when they were close friends who did everything together, but as she was healing him, she wondered how long this little truce would last.

Later that night, while she sat next to his bed and waited for him to fall asleep, Robin walked into the room. Frowning, he had his arms folded and looked rather impatient. Her tired eyes looked up at him, "He's suffered substantial damage to his frontal lobe. I can't leave him. I've reduced it to a bruise, but it might act up again."

"I was just going to tell you to get some sleep tonight—we have a long day tomorrow." He replied lying tone tainting his honest words.

Raven sighed and looked down at the changeling, "Are you asleep yet?"

"That depends—do you want me to be?" he whispered, his eyes drooping shut.

"I'm worried." She breathed, "Worried for all of us. But mostly you."

"Me? I'm a trooper Rae, I can handle a little bruise like this."

She was silent; _That's not what I meant, but at least he's calm now…_

_**She wasn't in the med bay when I woke up. I figured that she must've left with Robin anyway, but it doesn't matter. I'll be able to crack this case now that I know what I'm looking for—Biomorphicism is the key.**_

_**And soon Raven will be free from the shackles that Robin put on her.**_

_**-B.B.**_

* * *

Yay, I never thought I get this far with this story. It's starting to kick my ass. Scuse my french, but yah. Next chapter up soon.

Also, I wanted to say that if any of you guys have something you'd like me to proof-read, review, or anything else of the sort, feel free to send it to me via or through that new DocX thing they have up. 

**Reviews make me the happiest girl in the world... : DDDDDD**


	8. November 27th

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

Raven of Alaska: Don't worry, BB's pretty tough. :P

acosta perez jose ramiro: Yeah, I tried to stay away from all the story cliches I've seen, but this one was unavoidable.

titanfan45: Don't we all? Lol.

azarielthebladed: Thanks, and hopefully it won't get too hard to follow.

Agent of the Divine One: Thanks again, and I must say I find it interesting how you make your reviews have a poetry-like style.

Mr. Average: Thanks for your enthusiasm. I just hate to feel like I've written myself into a corner.

iluvbb: Thanks, I always try to review my reader's work in turn. And I think adding another chapter will be a nice addition to your story. : )

Jackpot Zeek: Thanks. : ) Lol.

Menamebephil: Haha, your review was quite entertaining to read. I look forward to more of them. ; )

Angelgreen65: That's really awesome to hear. I was hoping that I could hook people in. : D And idk, I always thought BB was invtrovertedly deep.

CLAREsaysHI: Of course, BB always has to stand up to Robin.

_**Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots...**_ Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic _thoughts

Italic followed by dots or the like... Flashback sequence

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

* * *

**Explain This to Me**

_**November 27th 2007 2:08:59 pm**_

_**In all my life, I'd never realized how much meaning words can have. Sometimes, words seem so simple, so basic, but they can always have a deeper, sometimes darker, meaning behind them...**_

Early that morning, Beast Boy found himself laying half-awake in his bed. He rolled over his rumpled sheets to lay on his stomach. Resting his chin on his folded arms, he stared at the wall in front of him, _Please get some rest, and don't worry about me... _her words still ringing in his ears. Sleep was evading him this morning, after he'd been let out of the med bay he tried to get a couple more hours of shut-eye, but her words had only made him worry more.

_"You're worried about me?" he asked her crossly with a glare to match._

_Her soft liliac gaze made his heart melt, and his anger fizzled like a fire in a rainstorm. She approached him cautiously, and looked up at her tall teammate, " Yes, I want you to stop fighting with Robin. He's just doing what he feels is best."_

_"But it's not what's best, and you know that." he was trying to sound determined, but his voice only sounded uncertain; how he couldn't stand the effect she had on him--sometimes..._

_Disappointment washed over her form, she was secretly wishing that he would just take her word for it, and not argue, but it seemed impossible for him not to, "I'm fine, Robin isn't hurting me, or forcing me to do anything I don't already want to do. Please get some rest, and don't worry about me."_

_He was hesistant, but wrapping her into his arms he gave her his silent agreement. He released her after a few brief heartbeats and walked towards the attic door. Stopping short, he glanced back at her, "Biomorphicism; that's what I found out, and I'll find out more soon. You can't stop me."_

_Her thoughts lingered over the determination in his words, "Just stay out of our way; I don't need you or anyone else looking after me. " she turned away from him and flew upward into the murky morning sky._

_**When I wrote about Raven's blisses, I forgot about her favorite one: complication. Everytime I've tried to get closer to her, it's always been on her terms. And I should probably stop lying to myself, this game we're playing is on her terms, and it always has been. And what really scares me, is that I never knew I was that predictiable, and that she knew me so well.**_

_**She thinks that everytime she runs away, I'll always follow.**_

_**And she's right, I'd follow her anywhere...**_

Beast Boy clambered out of bed, and exited his room. He wandered downstairs and flopped onto the couch next to Cyborg who was animately watching TV, "No it's higher than that. Higher!!"

The green-haired boy glanced up at the screen and realized that Cyborg was immersed an intense game of 'The Price is Right'. The younger boy chuckled to himself before curling up on the far side of the couch so that he could do what he had been doing those past few days-- wait for nightfall.

Once Raven had left for her midnight outing, Beast Boy had snuck into her room to search for more information about Biomorphicism, and Riona.

After flipping through some other books, he decided to wander into her secret room. The only drawback to this plan was the fact that he wouldn't be able to hear if she returned to her room earlier than usual. He glanced up at the towering bookcases; he pulled down a few more. He squinted at the tiny print, _No wonder Raven's having such a problem finding information; the print is barely readable!_

He finally found something that he thought might be useful, "Biomorphicism-- A magic type that involves the usage of electricity to destabilize one's opponent and to also hinder any specific part of the body the user so chooses; Can also be used to heal different parts of the body through a reversed charge that will melt down unharmed tissue into a different tissue type to re-stabilize damaged tissues throughout the body. Sometimes this form can work on bones, although the user may need to take caution when using this magic because it can make the body weak and vulnerable to other ulterior damage."

Beast Boy took a moment to soak in what he'd just read, "I think I understand that…"

_Robin stalked down the hallway, he was heading towards Raven's room, but ran into her before hand, "Raven," he snapped, "We need to talk."_

_Raven took a few steps back from him; pure anger and frustration stormed within him. She allowed a deep breath to escape her, "Let's go to the roof then, maybe it'll put some calm in your soul."_

_The dark-haired pair walked briskly down the hallway towards the main hall. Once on the roof, a cool winter breeze chilled over the two. Robin stared out over the ocean as though he'd forgotten entirely why the two had come to the roof in the first place. Raven finally felt comfortable enough to approach him, and placed a small hand on his broad shoulder, "Now what's this about?" she inquired._

_He turned his face to hers, reaching up to his face, he pulled his mask off, "Raven, you understand why I am the way I am, don't you? I'm sorry that I've been a jerk these past few days." He paused staring into her violet eyes with soft blue ones, "I hate myself a little more every time I snap at you."_

_Raven felt a shaft of uncertainty tug at her. Robin had never revealed his eyes to anyone, not even Starfire had seen their leader's eyes—at least the orange-haired alien had never mentioned it if she had, "You're no worse off then when we dealt with Slade." A wry smile on her lips as she teased him, which brought a small smile to his face. _

_She continued, "I understand that you care about all of us, and that you want to do what's best for the team. I just don't think this is a time for secrets. It makes it so much more dangerous for all of us."_

"_It's just that," he lowered his gaze while pocketing his mask, and stared at the silky ocean water instead, "ever since we saw Beast Boy get blinded and nearly killed by that sorceress, I've been petrified of it happening again. At least with Slade, he was only human like the rest of us. He couldn't kill us with one well-placed blow." He replied grimly._

_Raven removed her hand, and leaned on the edge next to Robin, only a few centimeters from each other, "I can understand your fear. And the slight possibility that we will all be helpless if that situation ever arises, but you can't let rage or frustration cloud your vision. We have to tell the others if we wish for their safety. If we face her again, they have to know to keep their distance."_

_Robin was silent for a long time; he was lost in thought staring into the crystal blue waters which seemed to resemble his resurfacing problems over and over again. He finally locked eyes with her, "You didn't tell him anything did you?" _

Beast Boy stood up from the pile of books he'd been searching through. He'd managed to find a lot of information about Biomorphicism. He found some other information that seemed substantial, but he would have to talk to Raven first. He wasn't exactly sure how he was going to approach her about it however though.

Climbing the stairs that led to her room, he felt the substantial amount of guilt-induced weight he was carrying around with him.

He was about to exit the secret passage when the door swung open revealing Robin and Raven, "I can explain!" Beast Boy blurt out with fear on his face.

Robin looked ready to kill, "You told me that you didn't say anything to him."

"He found me down there one day—I had no choice in the matter. Although, I don't know why he's in my room at this late hour though…" she glared pointedly at him.

Robin took Beast Boy by the arm and yanked him out of the stairwell. Raven stared at Robin with shock; she knew he was prone to anger and aggression before, but she'd never expected him to get so upset about Beast Boy's intrusion. She should be the one ready to kill him, not Robin.

"_Of course not." She replied simply._

_Robin smiled at her softly, "This is kind of off-topic, but I've been worried about something else also."_

"_What is it?"_

"_You're going to think I'm crazy if you don't already." He smirked._

"_Come now Robin-- Cyborg says it, Beast Boy says, I say it—you're completely nuts."_

_Robin laughed heartily, "Yeah whatever, you vampire." _

_Raven feigned upset, "I thought Beast Boy was the only one insensitive enough to call me that." She gave him a small, playful punch._

_And then he gave her that look, the same look that Beast Boy had been giving her lately; a dreamy, far-away look. It was look she didn't understand, but a kiss always seemed to follow it. She waited to see what he would do next but he only spoke, "You've really opened up, you know that? I'm really happy for you. I thought you'd have some qualms about opening up after being so closed your whole life."_

"_I had to separate myself from others to protect them, but now, I can show them how I feel without worrying. But I'm still working on it. It's still hard to say everything I want to say, because I have to keep telling myself that things aren't going to blow up if I do this, or if I do that." She sighed, "It's still hard for me Robin."_

_The two locked gazes again, "I was just going to say that I kind of have a theory going—about Starfire."_

_Raven suddenly went frigid; Did he know? She waited for him to continue as difficult thoughts fought around his softened gaze, "I feel her drifting away from me. Every day, it gets worse. I try and talk to her, but she just shuts me out. I don't know what I need to do or say to get her to talk to me again."_

_The dark-haired girl gave him a sympathetic look, "Have you done anything to make her mad lately?"_

"_I know I've been asking a lot of you lately Raven," he avoided her question, " but I need to ask another favor of you." He sighed again, a sigh riddled with doubt, guilt, and pain, "I want you to talk to Starfire for me. But be discreet, I don't want her to know that I asked you to come. Maybe you could talk about you and Beast Boy before hand."_

_A wave of embarrassment hit her, "What about me and Beast Boy?"_

"_I'm not going to tease you like Hotspot or Speedy." He grinned._

_Raven felt guilt prick at her at the mere mention of the name 'Speedy'. She wondered who initiated the exchange, and how Starfire and Speedy could actually live with themselves for it, "I know. I'll talk to her for you." _

"_Thanks." He smiled, "You know you're lucky to have someone so devoted to you; I wouldn't play hard to get too much Raven. It might just get the better of you." His last sentence seemed to have a deeper meaning to him than she could comprehend. All she felt was mist surrounding the answers to his melancholy._

"_Is that all?" she avoided his questions about Beast Boy because she wasn't ready to discuss that matter with anyone, not even her most trusted confidant._

"_Yeah." He leaned forward and left a kiss on her forehead, before returning his gaze to the ocean, "Thanks Raven."_

_Raven disappeared silently and continued to convince herself that Robin's little kiss was only an act of camaraderie and not a manifestation of pent up tension. Wandering down the stairs into the hallway she went in search of Starfire. _

Robin held Beast Boy squarely against the wall; Beast Boy did not struggle, and only showed submission to his leader, "First of all, you shouldn't be in anyone else's room but your own unless otherwise invited. Do you even see how remotely deceitful that is?"

Beast Boy was going to answer with a simple yes but his sense of duty kicked in, "You mean like how you and Raven go out looking for God knows what at night?"

"You've been spying on us?" Raven exclaimed.

His dark-haired teammates stared at him crossly. Robin grip tightened, "Beast Boy, you're not supposed to be snooping, or digging up on what Raven and I are doing. When the team needs to know we will let them know." His voice was calm but terse with resentment.

_Why would Robin resent me?_ Beast Boy wondered, squirming under his tight grasp.

Raven put a hand on Robin's shoulder, "Quit it, you'll cut his circulation off."

It took him a second, but Raven's words sunk in. He let go of Beast Boy, "We'd better not catch you snooping anymore."

"Don't count on it bird boy." He retorted, "You've endangered the team by keeping information from our teammates. And that I can not forgive. Cyborg and Starfire have to know what this witch can do. I've felt her power—I have the burn marks to prove it. This isn't some 2nd rate villain we can put into jail and turn our backs on—she's just like Slade—"

"And Terra?" Robin interjected, envious of Beast Boy's sudden ability to form a valid argument.

Beast Boy didn't hesitate, and squared his gaze, "Even Terra."

**_It probably hurt me the most to bring back her memory. It was such a low blow by Robin. I'm disappointed. I'd expected him to put the team first, not his ego, but I guess I was wrong…_**

_Raven knocked on Starfire's door. After a few minutes, Starfire opened the door with a scowl. It melted away once the alien realized that it was Raven, and not Robin like she'd expected, "Come in Friend!"_

_Raven sat on one end of Starfire's bed while Starfire sat on the other end. Raven knew why she was specifically there, but she realized that she hadn't talked to Starfire in quite sometime, "How have you been?" Raven asked._

_The two girls sat idly chatting about the week's recent events. The two drabbled in likes and dislikes, and then chatted about the Mayor's Ball. Finally, Raven broke the silent truce between them, "So what about you and Robin?"_

_Starfire was weighed in silence, something quite uncommon for her. Raven watched her intently waiting for an answer, "Robin and I are fine." She replied simply._

_Raven let out a sigh, and figured that was all she was going to get out of her friend. It was strange how seemingly open Starfire was, but on the inside she was like everyone else, harboring her own secrets; secrets that no one would ever suspect of her at all. But it seemed the mold cracked a little, "We have been somewhat separated lately. He's been—pushy."_

"_Pushy-- how?" she felt a shred of fear in her voice._

"_He's just been asking me to go out a lot." She kept her gaze lowered, "I've been busy—trying to do the perfecting of English."_

"_You are getting better." Raven smiled, she was about to say more but Starfire cut her off, "Speedy told me that it was inadequate." Disappointment rung in the girl's voice as she spoke._

"_Why would he say that to you?" the purple eyed heroine asked._

"_I do not know. But I will get better."_

"_For him?"_

"_For myself, so that I may prove him wrong." She sounded so determined, but Raven could feel the undercurrent of her hidden feelings. There was more to this than proving Speedy wrong, but what?_

_The conversation fizzled out shortly after that. So Raven stood up, and headed toward the door, "Okay, I should be going then."_

"_Thanks for doing the stopping by." She hugged Raven tightly, before she walked out the door._

"Beast Boy, my room, now. We're going to have a talk." Robin bit out.

Beast Boy stalked away, but Raven held Robin back a moment, "We shouldn't be fighting amongst each other—dissention will only lead to our own ruin."

"He needs to learn Raven. We all know our roles in this team, it's time he learned his."

"Why can't he know?"

"Do you want the whole team to know that your little healing trick may have been a one time thing? Do you want the others to think we have no defense, no direction in any of this? What will happen if we tell?"

Raven sighed; Robin was right. It was fear that was the driving force behind the two's masquerade. Robin was afraid of the team getting hurt, but he was more afraid of the team learning the truth of the one-hit kill the sorceress possessed. What would the others think about facing a villain they couldn't defeat? And injuries that couldn't be healed?

Her heartbeat faltered as she felt his shoulder leave her fingertips. Frozen wind whipped at her as she stood alone in her room; surrounded by knowledge, yet still unable to find the answers she sought. A rush of adrenaline hit her—she knew that leaving Beast Boy and Robin alone in such a heated state wouldn't end nicely.

She ran out of her room and took after the two, hoping that realization hadn't hit her too late…

"_Robin," Raven said softly, he looked up at her from the table, "I talked to her."_

"_And?" he replied eagerly._

"_You were right; I am lucky to have someone devoted like Beast Boy tailing me, but sometimes devotion is misplaced. Sometimes we get an idea stuck in our heads that doesn't have any substance at all."_

"_What are you trying to say?" bewilderment wrapped itself around his features._

"_Break it off with Starfire, and don't look back."_

_He stared at her like she'd just asked him to cut off his own arm. He rose to his feet, "She doesn't care anymore? Is that what you're telling me?" grief washed over his tone._

_Raven realized her mistake instantly, "No. I mean." Robin was on-edge, hanging on every word, "I mean, that if you back off for awhile, maybe she'll come wandering back. Maybe, give her time to miss you." She hadn't expected Robin to act so suddenly at her words, but then again, she forgot how much her words influenced others. _

_She couldn't remember a time when Robin had sounded so distressed. She heard his every emotion, and felt all the ones he tried to hide from her, but she'd never experienced an oppressive grief like his. He was more emotional than she realized. Robin seemed lost in thought, "You're right. It'll give me sometime to think. However much I miss her is irrelevant." _

_For the second time that day, she felt as though she'd made a mistake. She felt resentment towards Starfire for toying with Robin's emotions; if she didn't care for him anymore, she should've just broken up with him. It's more than that. I know it is… she told herself as Robin brushed past her._

"_Thanks Raven. I have clarity now."_

Beast Boy stood opposite of Robin in the detective's room. The two looked like two ravenous animals about to attack, "We don't have to fight about this." Beast Boy reasoned, "I understand why you're doing this."

"And why would that be?" he shot back.

"For your ego of course." The green boy's reasoning disappeared again.

Robin leapt at him, pinning him against the wall, "So help me." He growled, "How dare you accuse me of being so selfish?!"

Beast Boy felt Robin's strength overpowering him and wriggled free to pin him instead, "You'll send us to our deaths! Raven, you and I are the only ones who know how serious that attack was."

Robin seemed to be calming, feeling a writhing pain forming in his arm from his teammate's strength, "I know. That's why I didn't say anything. We don't need a panic or a feeling of hopelessness settling in around here."

"Do you even feel anything besides anger!?" Beast Boy cried, ripping the mask from Robin's face.

A ripple of upset splattered within Beast Boy, as he stared into Robin's clear blue eyes he witnessed the same unadulterated fear that had been plaguing Raven for days. A part of Beast Boy's heart broke when he realized how shook up Robin and he had become, and at how near the two of them were to actually physically fighting one another.

Beast Boy backed away, "I'm sorry. I—" he couldn't meet Robin's gaze.

_**As far back as I can remember there has always been this tension between the two of us. We've always disagreed on how to lead the team. I know I'm not our leader, but I've always had a different opinion of a good course of action. I've always held back however. We've always come close to physical fights, but not as close as we had in that moment. Truthfully, I could feel the beast within me ready to claw its way out. Despite the medicine Cyborg gave me, it's still there. Breathing, waiting for me to get angry enough again…**_

"It's alright." Rabin replied, much to Beast Boy's surprise, "And you are right. We should tell the others in the morning."

Raven rushed in the door, relieved to see that the two were smiling instead of frowning. But she did notice that they were wearing guarded smiles. A cautious vibe surrounded the two as a newfound respect for each other formed. The girl approached the two, "I'm glad you decided not to kill each other. Now I can." Her words formed a joke, but her tone spoke nothing but seriousness.

_**I feel ashamed of myself. It was wrong for me to think of Robin as selfish. He was just looking out for the team, as was I. But like usual, our ideas clashed. And when I looked at Raven that night, I realized why she'd kept this from me in the first place, she knew…**_

"If either one of you ever do that to me again," Raven began, "I don't know what I'll do. You two always have to fight through things, you need to learn how to reason with each other. I can't afford to lose either one of you." Her voice now pin-drop soft.

Robin couldn't break himself to look at her, but she knew he was ashamed, "I'm sorry, for making you worry."

"Me too." Beast Boy put in, trying to smile but it faltered when he saw the solemn look reflected in her eyes.

"It might be best for us to sleep now. We're all frustrated and tired." And then in a whirl of black, she disappeared. Robin and Beast Boy shared a respectful look, before the green-eyed boy disappeared as well.

_**She knew I would fight with him.**_

_**She was trying to protect us from each other.**_

_**To protect the team.**_

_**So it seems in the end, Raven is still the most virtuous, self-less of us all.**_

_**-B.B.**_

* * *

Okay, that's the end of the depressing chapters for awhile. The next chapter is pretty happy I'd say-- so I'm leaving my next update to you guys. If you want me to update tomm., I won't update next week. But if everyone still wants me to update next week, then it'll be on friday. Anywho, thanks for all of your continued support!! : D


	9. November 28th

Ah what the heck. Enough of you asked for it, so here it is. Happy reading. : D

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

acosta perez jose ramiro: Despite her ability to control her own emotions doesn't make her an expert on understanding them either. You make a wonderful point about BB's weakness. I'll have to remember to add that in when I write again.

titanfan45: Thanks.

azarielthebladed: Ah yes, the confused love triangle-- it'll be a little later, but I'll get to it.

Agent of the Divine One: I find self-truths to be the strongest recurring themes in my writing-- so yeah.

Mr. Average: Well, truthfully I write weeks ahead of time so I can update when I need to. : D

iluvbb: Yay for cliffhangers! J/k : P

CLAREsaysHI: Nah, I think it's pretty interesting when they fight. I guess because I don't read fanfics that include it a lot. I'm told it's popular however.

SxStrngSamurai13: It's k. I'm just glad I didn't lose a reader. :)

Tears of Trees: Sorry for the confusion, hopefully this one will be less so.

CacahuetePoco: And this is why I can't ever read RobRae fics. I keep saying to myself, "Quit kissing your brother!!" Lol.

wtncgirl09: You got it. : )

_**Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots...**_ Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic _thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

* * *

**Explain This to Me**

_**November 28th 2007 7:25:43 pm**_

_**Okay so I'm supposed to go dress shopping with Rae today—HAH-- she can't say anything about me calling her 'Rae' in here—anyway…**_

_**We're about to leave soon, so I'll report back later. I was going to ramble on aabout how Robin and I patched things up yesterday, and about how he's finally decided to let the team know everything, but that's pretty much all there is to it. And since Raven has always been my favorite distraction, I'll write more later...**_

"Beast Boy," Raven addressed, tapping her foot impatiently, "We're here for formal clothes, not video games."

Beast Boy didn't even blink as she spoke, he just kept his eyes focused on the screen, "Just a couple more levels Rae-- I've never gotten this far before!"

Raven rolled her eyes, and tried to think better of it. It was a miracle that she'd even got him out of the Tower. She practically had to drag him from his bed and push him into the shower. He whined and complained about being tired, and about how it was 'cruel and usual' punishment. The dark-haired girl figured that he would probably try to drag out their little mall trip as long as he could considering the pair hadn't been to the mall in a long time. She was about to pester him again about getting to a department store, but a dark figure from afar caught her eye. Staring in that direction, it seemed as though the figure was watching her—staring at her quite intently.

"Beast Boy, we should leave." She breathed quietly.

"God woman, I'm almost to the final round-- just another—aw!! What did you do that for?!" he glared at her as she dangled the arcade plug in front of him.

"Come on." She demanded, taking him by the arm and pulling him into the large crowd of people that was swirling outside the arcade.

While she pulled him along, she scanned the area for the dark figure. She'd hoped that she could lose whatever it was in the crowd of people, but instead she found that she'd lost Beast Boy. A chord of fear hit her, "Beast Boy? Beast Boy?" she glanced around the crowd as some pushed and shoved. It was then she realized that this crowd was there for a demonstration. A demonstration a certain green-eyed boy saw fit to participate in.

Sometimes, just sometimes, she found herself wanting to scream. And then a second more pleasing thought of leaving him behind also crossed her mind, but she couldn't leave him there, especially not with that menacing figure lurking about. So instead of continuing to gripe about Beast Boy's lack of listening skills, she took this opportunity to scan the area for that figure. Phasing through the attentive crowd, she began her search.

_**Okay, so this is so not cool. I was just trying to get to the last level of the Robotman Chronicles and Raven pulled the fricken plug. Then she pulled me into that crowd of spectators for God knows why—but I was pretty glad to find that the demonstration had promotional items for Robotman—items I got to keep!! Anyway, getting off topic again, but now I can't find Raven. She left me here!! She had to've, either that, or she went into one of the other stores.**_

"Beast Boy calling Raven. Pick up." He spoke into his communicator, but he continued to receive no reply. He'd been trying to contact her for about ten minutes. Finally, he decided to go wandering throughout the mall. A dark thought passed through his mind—what if she was hurt?

His state of mind was about to panic, but before he could, she was sauntering up to him, looking slightly bewildered. She kept looking over her shoulder as if something was following her until she crashed into him, "Beast Boy…" she muttered, "Sorry. I—"

"Why didn't you answer? Why'd you go wandering off like that?"

"Hey, don't treat me like I'm five years old. You're the one who decided to be on-stage and distract us from our purpose." Her spooked demeanor disappeared, and anger reclaimed her, "I just walked off on my own for a few minutes. I figured you'd be up there awhile."

He could sense that there was something she wasn't telling him. She hadn't exactly been herself lately, "Well, okay," he decided to drop it, he hadn't exactly been a 1st-class Titan either, "I was just worried."

Raven sighed, and started to walk towards one of the department stores. He watched her go with a look of pure wonder. He walked a few steps behind her until he finally pushed himself to walk fast enough to walk beside her. Taking her hand, he attracted her attention immediately, "Could ya slow down? We're not in any rush are we?"

She blinked at him with a contradiction of thought bemusing her face, "Not really I guess. And I thought we were saving Hand Tag for the boring slumber parties?" her tone wearing a mischievous mask of innocence.

**_Ah yes, Hand Tag. I forgot that's what we'd decided to name it shortly after I started holding her hand as a joke..._**

_"Beast Boy," she whispered softly into his ear, it was of tantalizing softness to him, how he adored the shivers that blemished his heart when she spoke to him like that, "What are you doing?"_

_"Holding your hand." he whispered into her ear, allowing his face to linger in her hair, and smiling to himself at the shivers he could feel coming off of her._

_"I guess 'Why?' would be a better question." she retorted, her voice dropping an octive but still maintaining its sweet alure to his delicate ears._

_"Because I want to, and besides, I'm getting to touch history you know? How many girl's hands have callouses like these?" his voice teasing her as he drew so close to her._

_She wanted to hurt him for a comment like that-- hurt him brutally, but the only words that came to her were, "The Titans are staring at us."_

_"Does anyone think it's strange that Beast Boy and Raven sit next to each other every meeting?" Hotspot remarked, placing a fist in front of his mouth to stop himself from laughing._

_"It's so they can whisper sweet nothings to each other." Aqualad gushed then pretending to be damsel in distress he cried, "Save me from this horrible meeting Beast Boy!"_

_Beast Boy could feel his blood boiling, "Who cares who sits by who?" as soon as the words left his mouth, his felt a coldness in his hand. He glanced at his side to see Raven stalking out the meeting room door. He leapt to his feet and rushed after her while Robin tried to hush the chorus of controversy that was rising from his teammates._

_"Raven! Raven, please wait." he pleaded finding that his voice was sounding exceptionally desperate._

_She halted her steps, "You know it will never be the same for us."_

_"What are you talking about?" he inquired, "We were just playing around. It doesn't mean anything."_

_When his eyes met hers, he felt like a mirror had broken before him and the tiny little shards were carving away a sad reflection of her true feelings for him, "The next time you want to hold hands with me-- it better mean something to you." she stalked away from him with her shoulders slumped._

_The __exigency of his words finally tore their way through to his conscious, "Raven, wait-- I don't care what they think of us-- I mean," she seemed to be listening to his words because her pace had slowed considerablely, "I'm sorry-- I shouldn't have said it doesn't mean anything, because it does. You're my friend, and even friends play Hand Tag every so often. Except for the guys that is."_

_She paused breifly, "Hand Tag? Is that what we're calling it?"_

_"Do I hear an objection Miss Raven?"_

_"Apology accepted Beast Boy, but no more cracks about the condition of my hands-- I work a lot harder than other certain individuals around here." she stared pointedly at him with her special smile._

_His gaze softened, "I had to find something to tease you about, okay?"_

_"You had to tease me about something?" she quirked a brow._

_"Yeah, like how you're always teasing me."_

_"Teasing? Who said anyting about teasing you? Don't you know flirting when you hear it?"_

_"So you were flirting with me then, is that about right?"_

_"Don't change the subject. I said it was a possibility." she remarked and walked down the hallway towards her room._

_He laughed, "I didn't hear 'possibility' in that sentence."_

_She cast him a fleeting glance, before disappearing into her room._

_**If only it were a joke to me now, it would make my life so much easier. And I think it was when she said those things to me that I realized that she might like me too.**_

Raven looked into the crowded department store, "Are we really going into that mess?" his irritated voice cutting through her thoughts.

She smiled, and felt his hand grip hers tighter, "Is that an objection I hear Mister Beast Boy?" she asked while leading him into the seemingly chaotic store.

"You're hilarious, you know that?" he replied, but honestly, he couldn't complain; he was getting to hold her hand and everything seemed fine between them again despite their heated arguements of a few days past.

Once the pair had reached the formal part of the women's clothing department, Raven began picking over the dresses. Some part of her wished that she had Starfire with her to help pick out a pretty dress. After all, what did Beast Boy know about dresses anyway? His apathetic form lingered nearby as his diverted his attention from Raven, and a young couple nearby who seemed to be arguing about something (he wasn't paying enough attention to pick up what they were saying).

"Will you carry some of these back with me?" her voice breaking its way through the wall of bordeom his was building around himself.

"Sure." he answered, taking some of the dresses from her hands.

_**So, yeah, girls need to learn how to make up their minds--**_

_**I've already got my suit ready to go, just gotta pick out a tie—when she actually picks a dress-- I've been sitting outside her changing room for about an hour and half, and everything she puts on looks fine to me, but for some reason or another—"It's not good enough!"-- I'm mocking her when I write that, she just keeps looking for the "perfect dress" as she put it. She said she doesn't want to pay for something if she'll never wear it again.**_

_**Which she probably won't-- I mean how many formal dances do superheroes go to anyway? This is like the first one ever. Mayors…grumble..**_

"What about this one?" she asked, stepping out of the dressing room wearing a sparkling periwinkle blue dress.

He'd barely lifted his face out of his hands to look at her before she disappeared into the changing room again, "It doesn't look right." She answered her own question.

_**That's it!! She's been doing this for an hour and a half now. If I have to be here, I want to actually see what the hell she's talking about.**_

"Raven, either you come back out here, or I'm coming in there. You don't even let me see what you're talking about-- how am I supposed to answer you?!" he shouted, giving a swift knock to her door.

"You wouldn't dare!" She snapped, "You're no help."

Beast Boy pivoted on his heel and huffed away from the door with frustration written all over his face, and then he turned swiftly around to beat on the door again, but she swung it open and the door smacked him square on the nose, "Argh…" he grumbled holding his nose.

Raven grimaced as he whined, "Sorry." All traces of her anger disappeared, "Let me see."

"You'll just make it worse." He argued backing away from her, "I can't even smell anymore!"

"Beast Boy quit being a baby and let me see!"

The two of them hadn't really noticed how much of a fuss they were making, but those around them couldn't stop staring at the arguing pair. Finally an employee approached them and kindly asked them to quiet down or leave. Beast Boy and Raven blushed bashfully at the crowd they'd gathered. Slinking away, the two returned to the outside of her dressing room. Beast Boy continued to hold his nose that was now bleeding, and Raven stared at him with uncertainty. She just wanted to help—couldn't he see that? His eyes were now squinted tight with pain, so he didn't see the shadowy figure that caught Raven's eye once more, "Maybe you should come in here." She pulled him into the dressing room with her.

"Ah, I thought you didn't want me in here." He tried to chuckle but only found himself wincing.

Raven placed a hand on his damaged nose and smoothed her fingertips across his nose to heal it. Her fingertips lingered on his face, "Does it feel better now?" her eyes meeting his with a soft expression of embarrassment.

"Yeah, it does." his voice softened.

_**If only I could have her look at me that way everyday...sigh. I'm a hopeless romantic and I didn't even know it. Cyborg's gonna have something else to rag on me about.**_

A few slow moments passed before she realized that she'd been staring at him way too long. A blush crept on her face, and she noticed him leaning foreward again, "Now quit fooling around. We can't be here all day."

"Why not?" he asked curiously while twitching his nose experimentally.

Suddenly she felt shy in his presence. She hadn't been letting him really look at her dresses because deep down, she didn't want to hear what he thought of them. She didn't want any negative comments about her physical appearance-- it was already a lacking confidence department. But now, there was no hiding from his opinion.

And she really didn't need another meeting with that dark figure…

_Raven was just about to turn around and pull Beast Boy down from his 'soap box', when a dark figure yanked her aside. It pulled her into the dim-lighted hallway that led to the management's offices. The dark figure held her steadily against the wall, "I have a message for you from Ríona." it croaked._

_She slowly felt her powers being stolen from her. Helplessness settled in, "What do you want? Who is Ríona?"_

"_Ríona is my master. She wishes you to know that any interference by your petty little team will not be taken lightly. She will deliver swift and terrible punishment."_

"_What else is Riona? A person—"_

"_A sorceress." He growled._

_Raven stared senselessly at the figure before her, and felt more waves of shock wash over her when it removed its hood revealing a wolf head, "This is all you need to know. Ríona is giving you a warning—take heed." And a heartbeat the wolf-like being was gone._

_The dark-haired heroine breathed out deeply and felt her powers slowly returning._

"Raven it's beautiful." Beast Boy's compliment shook her back to the waking world, "You should get that one." He smiled earnestly.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror, "You think?"

"I said it didn't I?" he retorted rolling his eyes, "And really, I think you've tried on every dress here."

She reached a hand around for the zipper, but found some difficultly in pulling it. She twisted a little more and lost her balance. He reacted quickly and caught her by the arms, with a swift tug he pulled her back to the standing position, "Really, you've been so jumpy today—were you aiming for falling next?"

"Hilarious." She glared, "Now help me unzip this thing."

Once she turned her back to him, his anxiety returned; it was a simple request. He gulped, and then pulled on the zipper. It didn't budge at first, but after a few more determined tugs, he pulled it downward halfway. His fingertips lingered on her skin, and he felt those familiar shivers rising off of her.

"What are you doing?" she asked in that soft and tantalizing voice he loved.

"Sorry Rae," her voice shook him to the present; snapping himself free of the less-than-innocent thoughts he'd been having-- it was funny how skin contact could do that to a person, "I'll be outside." He mumbled, feeling embarrassed.

"No. Don't." she was trying to think fast, but she didn't want to worry him about the dark figure. Normally she would've spilled about it by now, but she didn't want him to worry or go into overprotective mode, "Just turn around."

"Raven, you're being ridiculous." He replied, and forgetting a moment that she was changing, he turned around. He only glimpsed her bare form a moment before he threw himself out the door blushing. Raven hurried to pull her uniform on ignoring the burning that was forming in her cheeks. She just didn't want the figure to take him away and leave her by herself again.

_**Yeah, I saw more of Raven than I should've today. Once again, our arguments get us into embarrassing/awkward situations. And the mystery has finally been solved—it's white. And Cyborg said I'd never find out. He's sucha jerk. We were playing Truth or Dare one night with the other guys, and since Raven and mine's relationship is often the topic they tease me about, Cyborg thought that it'd be funny to dare me to find out the color of Raven's—**_

"Beast Boy? Are you ready to go now?" she asked him avoiding his gaze; she couldn't imagine what he was thinking of her now.

He looked at her a moment, but found himself unable to see anything but the embarrassing situation unfolding before him again, so he looked away, "How about we get something to eat before we go? I'm starving."

Raven was still unnerved by the dark wolf creature that might still be following them, but she knew that he would probably end up arguing with her if he didn't get his way, "Okay." She smiled meekly.

_**Yes, the jerk dared me to ask Raven the color of her bra.**_

_**Damn. The other boys thought it was great though. Laughing like a pack of jaguars—I mean hyenas-- whatever. So I went upstairs and stared at her door with the boys hiding out behind the corner. There was no backing out now. And seeing as I didn't feel like dying that particular night, I—**_

"So you really like the dress?" she prodded, looking up at him from her plate.

He slurped up another noodle, "Yeah. It's just not as pretty as its owner." He grinned picking a few carrots up from his plate of Chinese food.

A twinge of pink stained her cheeks; Beast Boy certainly seemed quite intent of destabilizing her with compliments, "We should probably leave soon though. The others might worry."

"Why? So we can wander around our boring Tower some more? There's so much left to look at Rae—and if you hadn't spent so much time undressing we could look at more."

It took him a second, but he realized what he'd just managed to tease her about again. The two stared down at their plates again and idly picked at their food.

_Just when we were starting to forget about it, and he mentions it again!!_ She found herself thinking bitterly.

_**Smooth B.B. What next? Jokes about bra colors?! I could hurt myself right now.**_

_**So when she opened the door, I asked her if I could talk to her for awhile. We actually talked about a lot of different stuff, and I was too chicken-y to ask that stupid question. But when I left her room, I realized that the other Titan boys had left already. Cyborg told me that they were tired of waiting, or they thought Raven had killed me.**_

_**But he made it quite clear to me that I would never be able to find it out. And the dare was merely to rile me up. Great friends I have, eh?**_

_**White. White. White. My new mantra for embarrassment…Beige. : p**_

"Alright, since you're so intent on living all of this up. Why don't we get ice cream? And then we can go to the toy store. And then ride the carousel." She sighed, staring at him pointedly with an edge of umbrage in her voice.

"Sounds great." He grinned, ignoring her attempts to make fun of his childish likes.

Raven wanted to groan, or protest-- but curiousty bit at her like a hungry dog. Beast Boy slurped up the last morsel of food off of his plate, "Let's do ice cream last though, I'm stuffed." he gave her his award-winning smile.

She would never admit it outloud, but there was always something about his smile that made her smile. Granted, it was normally a soft, and fleeting smile. But on the inside, it was like a circus had made camp in her heart, and the tightrope walker was who she identified with most; balancing high above an attentive crowd that brought a rush of excitement and nervousness. The girl barely had time to blink before he took her hand and took off in the direction of the toy store. _He can't be serious!_ she found herself thinking, although she couldn't help but love that about his personality.

Beast Boy pulled her along down the aisles of the toy store. He glanced around at the toys and smiled as children passed by, "So why do you like going into toy stores?" Raven broke the silence between them.

"It makes me feel young again." he replied simply, pausing in front of the planes and cars section.

"Beast Boy, you'll always be young to me." she sighed.

"Don't say it like it's a bad thing-- young at heart's the way to be." he grinned, before leading her out of the toy store and toward the carousel, "Does your stomach feel settled enough for this?"

"I guess." she seemed squimish as he eagerly approached it.

**_Yes, I'll admit it-- sometimes I act like a five year old. But sometimes, I feel it's necessary. I mean, you have to have fun while you can right?_**

Beast Boy let go of the dark-haired girl's hand and leapt onto the saddle of a horse. The heroine glanced cautiously around at the creatures, "Pick the tiger Rae. It's right next to me."

A deep breath escaped her, and she pulled herself onto the colorful tiger beside her teammate. A few minutes later, however, all signs of her wariness had vanished. A cheerful excitement had replaced her normally gloomy demeanor. She found herself smiling widely, and laughing as Beast Boy made faces at her while the ride bobbed up and down. Once they exited the ride, they slowly walked toward the ice cream parlor. He took her hand out of habit now, but she didn't seem to mind at all. But he had so much he wanted to tell her, so much he wanted to ask her, but he just walked silently beside her-- keeping his pent-up feelings for her his heart's most treasured secret-- even if it was blatantly obvious to everyone else.

"So, Mister Garfield, what's your favorite kind of ice cream?" her voice snapped him from his trans.

He looked into her flirty eyes, and replied, "Whatever kind of ice cream you hate, Miss Rae-Rae."

"What a cute couple!" the employee piped in, "What can I get you?"

She gave him a mock-angry look, "Do you want me to throw plates at you again?"

"My dear, your aim is so bad I would relish the disappointment." a mischievous look froliced within his eyes.

"I missed on purpose." she scoffed, "I think I'd like plain vanilla cone."

"You say that now-- but I bet you were keeping score about how many times in a row you could hit me. And don't get all crazy on me with these ice cream choices."

She quirked a brow at him, "'Get all crazy'?"

"Alright, joke over." he grinned sheepishly, "I'll take mint chocolate chip."

_**'Get all crazy'-- White-- Geez, I'll have to write that down in my big book of embarrassement. But I guess it's just because whenever I'm around her, sometimes my brain doesn't work right. Especially when I'm trying to be witty. Keyword: Trying.**_

_**So we finally arrived home, and Raven told me she needed to talk to Robin.**_

_**Hopefully embarrassment won't be part of that conversation…**_

"That was an awful long mall trip, B." Cyborg prodded, hinting at something Beast Boy couldn't discern.

"What's your point?" he grumbled, staring up at his half-metal friend.

Cyborg led him away from the main room, and into his own room, "So did anything happen? Did you finally tell her how you feel?"

The green teen rolled his eyes, and folded his arms, "Haven't you seen how much we've been arguing? It's not exactly something that comes up in casual conversations. So no." he paused momentarily, contemplating telling Cyborg what he'd learned—on one hand it would be an ego boost to prove Cy wrong—on the other, it could be his secret—revealing it would reveal the embarrassing situation in which he'd discovered the info anyway, "Nothing interesting happened. We just spent forever in a dress store." Cyborg nodded letting the information in.

"Girls." They both groaned and then laughed.

_**So yeah, dress shopping wasn't so bad. After all I got to compliment Raven openly, even though she didn't believe half of it. But that's okay; I'll convince her one of these days. : )**_

"Are you using smileys Beast Boy?" a voice asked over his shoulder.

"Private journal." He snipped, minimizing the window, and twisting his seat around.

Robin raised a brow, "While you two were gone, we found some interesting things out about that toad-like creature we fought about five days ago. And we also found some things out about that sorceress that attacked us too. We found out that her name is Ríona, and she has it in for Jump City; namely us Titans."

"Like usual." Beast Boy groaned, "How'd you find all of this out?"

Robin looked pensive for a moment, "I found out the stuff about the sorceress today while going through some newspapers, and internet articles. But Raven told me what happened today, and we put two and two together."

The changeling looked confused, "What happened today?"

The dark-haired leader then realized that Raven had not yet told her green friend, "Um, I have some paperwork to file." He continued, disappearing from his friend's room.

_**Something happened today and I wasn't there to protect her?**_

_**And then she didn't tell me?**_

_**It's seems trust is very lacking in our relationship…somehow.**_

_**I'm sad now. I'll write tomorrow or something.**_

_**-B.B.**_

* * *

Alrighty then. I hope you all liked it. It was more fluffiness, and humor. ; D Thanks again!! Wysti


	10. November 30th

Alrighty then, I wanted to update this before I got too busy again. And hopefully I'll continue to update on a weekly basis. I've been hitting a bit of a writer's block. : (((((

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

**acosta perez jose ramiro:** Thanks. I was wondering if I was pushing the envelope too much.

**azarielthebladed:** If you think about it, he's pretty used to Raven hurting his feelings...not that makes it right.

**Agent of the Divine One:** I don't think they have to worry about surprize attacks yet.

**Mr. Average:** Lol. I can see him saying that for some reason.

**CLAREsaysHI:** Thanks!!

**SxStrngSamurai13:** Lol. I'm glad you liked it so much. : D I tried not use so many cliche date moments. But it was all I could think of at the moment. : p

**Raven'sWinterRaine:** Thanks. : ) I always try to layer my writing for maximum comic relief.

**Raven of Alaska:** Everything's a secret to Raven-- that's just how she is.

**BBRaefan:** Thanks for reviewing! :)

**LynetteRowan:** Thank you. I'm trying to give it a nice balance of fluffiness and seriousness.

_**Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots...**_ Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic _thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

* * *

**Explain This to Me**

**_November 30th 2007 9:07:12 pm_**

**_It was one of those times again. One of those times were you just do something because you want to, because it feels good, because it'll relieve you of inner turmoil if you do it...and man, did I do it..._**

Beast Boy paced anxiously outside of Raven's door, "Are you almost ready? The others are ready to go."

The door slid open, "Ready." She replied following him downstairs to where the other Titans were waiting for them.

_**So tonight's the night. We're finally going to this Mayor's Ball thing. And get this, as his "personal" friends. Ha ha, right.**_

_**I think Robin put it best, "It's a publicity stunt to rally the Senators, and the Governor, and a wide assortment of higher-ups that Jump City has an exceptionally good mayor who deserves praise, and blah, blah, blah..."**_

_**This is why I hate politics—and listening to Robin—I always manage to tune them out. :p**_

The Titans exited the expensive stretch limo in a single file line. Robin glanced back at his teammates and gave them a reassuring smile. Truthfully, this was the first time they'd ever attended something so formal before. Robin could tell that his team was a little nervous, because there were a lot of reputations on the line tonight. The Mayor was using this as a display of his skills as a mayor. He needed the Titans to vouch for his authority.

The teens knew that the Mayor didn't need to do the ball to prove that, but they supported him anyway.

Starfire took the dark-haired boy's arm gently, and ascended the stairs with him. Cyborg and Bumblebee followed suit (Bumblebee only agreed to attend at Cyborg's incessant urging, or so she claimed). Beast Boy glanced nervously at Raven. Her soft violet eyes watched him with a curious expression. Seeing as the other Titans had "escorts" of sorts, Beast Boy and Raven had agreed to pair for the occasion beforehand, but it seemed so far away at that moment as they stared into one another's eyes

Raven took his arm clumsily. Her hand shook as she gripped his arm. The green-eyed boy smiled warmly at his dark-haired beauty. He placed a hand over her shaking one, "Listen, everyone from here to Japan can hear your heartbeat." she smiled and rolled her eyes as he spoke, and it took her a few moments but she finally met his gaze again, "C'mon, we've faced worse things. You can do this."

She took a deep, steadying breath and followed his lead into the grand building. She found that once she relaxed into his one-armed embrace, it felt so natural, right, like she belonged there by his side..."Here Raven, your seat."

Raven was pulled from her thoughts as Beast Boy's voice attracted her attention to the chair he had pulled out for her. She took the seat hastily noticing that the other Titan girls were already seated at other circle tables surrounding the dining hall. She looked around at the other tables and noticed that the others were seated far away. She was grateful that at least she would have Beast Boy to keep her company.

"Hey," she felt his warm breath in her ear, "I'll be right back," she was about to reply before he pressed a small kiss to her temple, "And Raven, don't forget to save me a dance." she felt her heart falter-- she'd forgotten about the dancing part.

"Yes, of course." was all she managed to breathe before he walked away.

She felt an overwhelming pull in her heart to follow him. She hated those feelings, all those feelings he made her feel; feelings he didn't even know he was making her feel-- like butterflies have a slumber party and they all liked jumping on the bed of her heart best...

She brushed nonchalant fingertips across where he'd placed the kiss before turning her attention to the guests of the Mayor. She figured that they were split up to entertain his guests and "coincidently" mention his great feats as mayor; Feats that every mayor was completing across the country...

The soft-eyed girl was relieved to have these other people start the conversations first. Beast Boy finally returned and was sitting right across from her. He grinned happily at her; of course it was then that she realized that he was giving her his "special" smile. The one he gave her only when he was completely content.

Apparently, one of the Mayor's guests had asked Raven a question, because she realized they were laughing at her distracted state of mind, "Sorry, what did you ask me?"

"It's okay dear," the elderly woman replied, giving her a starry-eyed look, "I remember when I had boyfriend too. Could never stop thinking about him." the other ladies laughed, while their husbands chuckled quietly to themselves.

Raven felt a heat rushing to her face, "We're not--"

But Beast Boy interrupted her, "We don't like talking about our relationship. Trying to keep it discreet, or else the fan girls would be all over it."

The small group that formed the table laughed quietly nodding to themselves. Raven felt relief washing over her, but had he just said they were together? _He's covering for us...he has to be..._ she convinced herself.

"Now, I hear that you're planning a big venture in the oil business-- is that true Mr. Vaughanhort?" the green-eyed boy cleverly avoided letting the conversation drop back into Raven and his questionable, platonic relationship.

The elderly man that was sitting next to the woman who'd previously brought up Raven's supposed BF, Mr. Vaughanhort, smiled brightly at the young man, "It's interesting that you know anything about that-- most kids your age--"

And then his voice became background noise to Raven again. She couldn't stop staring at Beast Boy; _Who is this boy anymore? And what am I feeling for him? Admiration? Couldn't be..._ she found her thoughts tumbling all around her.

The obnoxiously long dinner was finally finished and all of the couples had paired off to dance. Beast Boy gave Raven a smile-- he wanted to asked her to dance, but he felt a woman tap his shoulder, "Would a nice young man like you do this old lady a favor?" it was Mrs. Vaughanhort.

"You're not old." he replied kindly.

She chuckled lightly, "A dance perhaps? Mr. Vaughanhort doesn't fancy himself with dancing anymore."

Beast Boy's smile faded slightly as he stared into Raven's lilac eyes, "Yes, it would be a great honor." he then led the lady onto the dance floor, casting Raven one last glance over his shoulder at her.

There were many groups of people gathering around the edges of the event who'd prefer to talk than delve into the age old tradition of ballroom dancing. She wandered toward the drink bar. Absently, her feet led her towards Starfire's animated form. She felt herself relax at her friend's side.

Starfire smiled at her in acknowledgement and continued talking to the group that seemed to favor her company. As of late, Starfire had turned into quite the Earthling. Most of her awkward word structures had disappeared, and she knew almost everything there was to know about Earth and its people. And it showed-- Starfire was as outgoing and charismatic as ever. She and Robin made quite the pair for sure-- even more so now.

Raven didn't feel very inclined to spend anytime with these people. She knew that Starfire and the others were doing the Mayor a big favor by putting in good words for him. But Raven couldn't care less, she supported their mayor, but she felt like protecting the city was enough without all the politics. Slowly, she withdrew herself from the group.

She wanted to attach herself to Robin's hip. He always managed to make her feel comfortable. And they had always shared a deep bond, but getting close to him now-- with all of those people around him-- was like running up the Nile. Impossible. So after some wandering, she found Cyborg among the masses. Cyborg also gave her a smile of recognition before continuing his story enthusiastically.

Raven was about to disappear again, but her half-mechanical friend stopped her, "Isn't that right Raven?"

It took her a moment, but she remembered the story he was telling quite well. She smiled fully, "But that wasn't even the best part of the story."

Suddenly, all eyes were on her. She could sense the excitement, and anticipation of the words she was about to speak, but she felt frozen in place like an icicle. Then she heard Beast Boy's words again, _"You can do this."_ A deep breath relaxed her form and soon she was re-telling the story as ardently as any of her other friends.

The group slowly dispersed shortly after. Raven thought for a moment that she wasn't as entertaining as the others for a moment, but Cyborg smiled assured her that that wasn't the case, "Where did all of that come from? I just saw you transform from a wallflower into Ms. Popularity like that!" he snapped his fingers.

Raven felt a small blush creep onto her features, "It was actually something Beast Boy said to me-- If you can believe that."

Cyborg's grin faltered, melting into a look of confusion and aggravation, "He's become quite the inspirational speaker lately hasn't he?"

Raven couldn't tell if Cyborg was really irritated with Beast Boy's more recent behavior, or if he just felt irritated because he couldn't figure his best friend out, "I don't know." she shrugged, her normal relaxed state returning now that the two were alone.

"Which reminds me-- I need to find Bumblebee--" his thoughts collided with each other, "You should probably go find BB too."

"Bumblebee?" she tilted her head, "Oh Beast Boy. Duh." she rolled her eyes at her own lack of perceptiveness.

"'Duh'? Since when does Raven say 'Duh'?"

"Whatever." she chided, "I'll find him. He's around here somewhere."

The two friends parted ways in search of their other companions. Raven searched the room thoroughly but to no avail. Beast Boy was nowhere to be found. She could've sworn he loved the party scene. She was about to give up and find one of her other friends when she felt a couple taps on her shoulder.

She turned around to find her gaze locked with Beast Boy's emerald intent look, "You owe me a dance I believe." He offered her his hand.

Raven looked shyly away from his confident gaze, "I can't dance Beast Boy."

"It's not that hard. All we're doing is moving back and forth." He replied simply.

"If it's so simple, then why do it?" she replied pretending to be completely apathetic with the idea.

"Because it's fun." he smiled. Expertly, he took her right hand to guide her, and his left hand rested on her hip.

Cautiously, she placed her right hand onto his broad shoulder, "How was your first dance, Prince Charming?"

His expression seemed to be laughing at the slight jealousy in her tone, "Raven, sweetheart, you can't keep me all to yourself." she rolled her eyes at his use of the pet name 'sweetheart', "She was a kindly old lady who wanted to feel young again. And it's not like we can't just dance whenever we feel like it." he pulled her into a light twirl.

Twisted in his arms, she looked up at him, "That was a long dance."

He laughed softly, "It was a few dances before I could get away from the crowd of sixteen-year-olds I was gathering. None of the other Titan boys are dancing. I mean, how could I deny them a dance with a superhero? A superhero you get to spend a lot of time with I might add." the tease in his voice evident.

"You and your ego." she replied, but then he stopped his movements and pulled her in close.

"I have enough room for you." his voice pin-drop soft as he rested his forehead against hers.

Despite his egotistical attempts, she could see right through him to the sensitive and strong-willed man she knew. Her heart fluttered wildly in her chest, "I don't know if I can believe that, you've got quite the ego." she teased, and then she felt that familiar silence casing them again; The silence that was always a prequel to one of his kisses.

He gazed down into her eyes, and for once, she felt that maybe, just maybe she wanted what he had to offer. Her eyes fluttered shut and anticipation built up in her as she felt him lean closer to her--

"Beast Boy! I can't believe it." a young girl's voice broke through the pair's tender moment.

He pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, "My public awaits." his smile grazing her cheek a fleeting moment before he left to dance with some of the other girls.

A smile graced her features, and a tug of jealousy bit her ego roughly. True, they weren't together, but maybe that's what those mixed-up feelings were trying to tell her. That the two of them should be together, but how it scared her. She knew that they way he looked at her couldn't merely be platonic friendship talking, but platonic romance.

She watched them walk away with a boy she adored very much. He glanced over his shoulder a few more times. But the final time he glanced back at her, the dreamy expression he had been wearing was blown away as swiftly as a summer breeze-- how he hated seeing her wear such a dejected expression.

Raven finally led herself to Robin's side. He smiled at her with a vivid expression that she hadn't seen him wear in quite awhile, "What's got you so chipper?" she taunted.

Laughing, he replied jovially, "Lighten up Rae. It's a party right?"

A breadth of a smile sparkled on her face, "Right, I'll try to enjoy myself for your sake."

After a little while, the group Robin had gathered dispersed. Robin glanced at his dark-haired friend, "Can I talk to you a minute?" without waiting for her answer, he took Raven by the hand and pulled her away from the masses.

"Yes, let's talk." Raven spoke sarcastically.

"Sorry," he wore half-a-blush, "It's about Star and me. I've been thinking about what you said, and I can't do it. I just can't cut ties with her—I love her…" his strong voice withered away into a whisper filled with pain.

A spike of anger and resentment hit her again, _How can Starfire be so blind to all of this?_

"But today, she didn't act like there was anything wrong considering she's been avoiding and ignoring me lately." His voice seeming happy, but an undercurrent of guilt flowed under his words.

Raven nodded listening to his words, and felt helpless. She knew she couldn't help Robin with his dilemma. There was a long pause between them before he spoke again, "So how are you and B doing?"

"Honestly, is that all there is to me?" she snapped, "There are other questions you could be asking me—questions I actually know the answer to."

Robin let a half-hearted chuckle pass his lips, "I don't know how he could make it any more obvious to you Raven. He practically acts like your boyfriend already."

The dark-haired heroine gave him a pointed look, "You'd better quit it Robin."

Robin grinned widely, "Raven, you and him are more alike than you think."

Raven gave him a confused look, "How are Beast Boy and I alike again? I must've missed that part."

The dark-haired boy gave her a soft smile, "That you'll have to find out for yourself." Was all he said before he walked away from her.

_Why must everyone act like they know something I don't?_ She thought, giving him an irritated look, but let him walk away.

A little while later, she did find herself enjoying the party a lot. But a part of her party was missing, so she decided to find where Beast Boy had wandered off to-- which was more easily said than done. She searched around the large ballroom hall, but to no avail. Finally, before determination could die in her, she found him walking outside the building. He had exited through the backdoor and was wandering in the garden.

He wasn't alone, however, there were other couples walking about. Raven was about to approach him-- relieved that he, himself, was alone (she was still feeling some nervous twangs about big groups)-- but then a blonde-haired girl approached him. The dark-haired girl paused, and found herself just in earshot, but unseen by the pair.

The girl looked bashfully up at him, "So you're a superhero huh?"

He smiled politely at her. The girl was clearly much younger than him. She looked fourteen at best, staring innocently up at the tall nineteen-year old Beast Boy. Raven wasn't going to lie to herself-- that girl was beautiful-- and it made her feel...jealous? She wondered how she could even be jealous that some other girl was talking to him, but she did.

But what Raven heard next surprised her...

"Dear, I'm sure you're a nice girl, but I already have someone...in my heart."

The girl seemed so small now-- she hadn't realized how obvious it was to him that she'd been flirting with him. She began to retreat from his strong form, "Hey," the girl turned, "You look beautiful, by the way."

_Okay, he's definitely on something..._ Raven found herself thinking, _Since when was Beast Boy so sweet and sincere? And who is he talking about? Who's in his heart? Terra maybe? After all this time?_ Raven wanted to dismiss those thoughts, considering all of the boyfriend like affection he'd been giving her lately, but it was entirely possible. Being the spiritual person that she was, she had often found herself believing in soulmates.

And she'd read once that sometimes when a person feels that they have found their soulmate, that even in that partner's death, they will not move on from that person, but continue living their lives alone. She turned her attention the pair again...

"Thank you." she mumbled, blushing bright red and scampering away.

"Easy there Romeo, you wouldn't want them falling at your feet right?"

Beast Boy glanced at Raven as she joined him on the stone bench he'd found, he chuckled, "She's too young for me anyway."

"Quit it. You're making me feel old." she replied, realizing that she was indeed older than him by a good two years.

"Sorry, sweetheart. Sometimes we men can't help it." he turned his gaze from her and stared upward at the starry night sky.

Raven felt a wave of different, clashing feelings washing over her. Why did he just call her a pet name again? He'd called her 'Rae' before-- which she hated-- but 'sweetheart' seemed like it was going to take its place.

She released a breath she didn't even know she was holding, "What did I tell you about pet names? No 'sweetheart', no 'Rae', just 'Raven'."

Beast Boy smiled and shook his head. He merely clasped her hand in his own and continued looking upward. Now Raven knew there was something different about him. He hadn't been himself lately. It was actually starting to bother her. She had never seen him look so glossy-eyed before-- he was completely lost in thought.

_Probably thinking about the girl he has in his heart..._ She decided.

She felt butterflies having a slumber party in her heart again as his thumb idly stroked her hand. The purple-eyed girl stared at him, feeling heat and tension rise between them again. Admitting that those feelings had been between them many times, would mean admitting that she was in total denial of life itself because she could never break herself to admit it.

Raven wasn't stupid.

She knew what those feelings were.

She knew that she liked him.

She just didn't like having to break herself in half every time those feelings came into the picture.

And then he turned to face her. His forest green eyes misty, and looking almost magical in the calm moonlight. Beast Boy leaned his face towards hers. She felt her breath hitch and the frozen state of social anxiety override her impulse to react. She saw his lips part (yes, she was paying that much attention), she waited for what she expected to be another attempt at a kiss, but he merely rested his head against hers.

Whispering, he spoke "Y'know that girl isn't the only beautiful one here tonight..." and then for some reason unknown to her, he pulled away from her and remarked teasingly, "Turtledove."

Fury slapped her out of her stupor, "Why is it so hard for you to call me by my name?!"

"Why do you hate people calling you by pet names? Hm, Rae?"

She huffed, pulling her hand from his and standing up, "I'm going inside."

Beast Boy rose from his seat, and showed no intention of following, "Raven," he called, reluctantly she found herself turning and expecting an apology, "My Father used to call my Mother that-- Turtledove." he voice held no tone of apology, just clarity.

Raven narrowed her eyes at him and continued her trek inside, "You don't understand!!" was all he heard before he sat on the bench again. This was only first ball they had attended and he already knew he would hate them all.

_**So finally the night came to a close. And when we finally got home, I walked Raven to her door...**_

"Damn, you looked beautiful tonight." Beast Boy breathed, staring at Raven as she shadowed her door.

"Thank you." she smiled shyly, smoothing the fabric of her periwinkle blue dress absently.

There were a few awkward moments of silence before Beast Boy took a few steps toward her. She felt herself redden under his intense gaze, "I had a lot of fun with you tonight-- we should do that more often-- have fun."

Raven blushed even harder, and she found herself wishing very much that she had her hood at that moment. Beast Boy was now only a few steps away from her, his gaze still imposing on her. Raven felt her strength and confidence slipping-- he was slowly making her melt under his gaze; what did he want? Why in heaven's name was he still looking at her that way?

She was about to speak, but he cut her off by pressing his lips to hers. His form leaned over her while she leaned lightly against the wall. She felt all of her frustration and anxiety melting away in his simple kiss. He broke apart a moment to stare into her eyes-- wondering if she was feeling the same way-- and when he saw her delicate smile-- he knew that she was into it as well.

She felt another wave of relief as he kissed her once more. After he took a few more quick kisses from her, he grinned, "'Night Rae." She rolled her eyes at the use of a pet name again, but she found herself not minding his names for her anymore. The lavender-eyed heroine slid into her room; grateful that all of her peppy butterflies had melted away.

**_So here I am. Typing like a madman about how I actually had enough guts to kiss Raven-- on the lips I might add-- five times I might also add-- I counted, so what!? : P I think I might keep a record of all of this...just for research purposes of course..._**

**_Research-- ha ha. I need to tell Cy about that one. So, I should probably add my last will and testament considering Raven's probably going to kill me tomorrow for what I did today. But I couldn't help it-- I like her so much._**

**_And those rosy red lips of hers were just asking to be kissed..._**

**_-B.B._**

* * *

Okay. Hopefully no one minds BB's reasoning for using the pet name of 'Turtledove'. I saw it in the thesaurus and I couldn't help but laugh. It almost seems awkward, but I still thought it would be cute to incorporate the fond memory of his parents in there somewhere.

Wysti


	11. December 2nd

Sorry it's much later than usual, but life keeps getting in the way. : P Lol.

**Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:**

**acosta perez jose ramiro:** Thanks. :)

**Agent of the Divine One:** Hmm, the sky may be turning black very soon, and maybe the water too.

**Mr. Average:** Haha, I don't think Raven's ready to kill him yet.

**CLAREsaysHI:** I tried to make it as cute as is possible-- for those two anyway. :P

**SxStrngSamurai13:** Thanks for your kind words, and hopefully I'll never loose my writing edge.

**Raven'sWinterRaine:** Thanks. More fluff soon. ;D

**Raven of Alaska:** Of course, I couldn't tease the kiss thing much longer or peoples might start getting angry. :o

**BBRaefan:** As you probably noticed that the action-y scenes are very fleeting so far. It will get more action-y eventually though.

**wtncgirl09:** Glad you like it. :)

**talim9:** Thank you so much for choosing my story to review. I'm very honored, and hopefully you'll continue to like what you read. ;)

**titanfan45:** Hmm, it shall be very interesting to say the least-- once I get there.

**iluvbb:** Thanks! More excitement up ahead.

_**Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots...**_ Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic _thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

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**Explain This to Me**

_**December 2nd 2007 12:59:10 pm**_

_**Chocolate syrup, cherries and whipped cream-- mmmhhmm... This isn't going where you might think; however, today is 'Sundae Day' for me and Star. And today we decided to lay it on thick.**_

"Wow, Star. You've really outdone yourself this time." Beast Boy grinned widely while staring up at the tallest sundae he'd ever seen.

Starfire giggled appreciatively, "Now we shall work on yours!"

"Of course-- but you do know we're going to have the worst stomachaches ever right?"

Starfire smiled brightly again, and went to working on scooping ice cream into his tall blue sundae bowl. The changeling however, went to work on gathering different ingredients for his sundae. He went rummaging through the cabinets searching for roasted peanuts, caramel, and chocolate chips. Finally, he recovered the items he was searching for, and poured them generously over the pile of ice cream in his bowl.

The two stepped back from their pieces of work. Shaking their heads in accordance, the two retrieved their sundaes and proceeded to eat them. Occasionally, the pair would flash each other a friendly smile before indulging themselves into the creamy- sugary goodness that was ice cream. Beast Boy yawned widely once he was done eating, "That'll about do it." he patted his stomach with a contented sigh.

"Yeah," she added, allowing a small burp pass from her lips, "I'm glad Sundae Day is only once a month."

"If we ate like this every week, we'd both be having heart attacks on missions."

Although his tone was completely serious, Starfire could help but burst out laughing at his comment. And soon the two were laughing like little sixth graders again. Finally, their laughter subsided, and a relaxed silence weaved its way around their hearts. Starfire looked over at the emerald-eyed boy, and found a question pushing its way through her inner calm, "Beast Boy, may I ask you a question of the personalness?"

"A personal question?" he quirked a brow, "Seriously Star, what does that really mean? Isn't everything you disclose with someone else a personal question's answer?" she seemed confused with his ramblings, "I don't mind. I'm a pretty open book-- especially with my Sis."

Starfire felt a warmth wrap itself around her at his kind name of 'Sis', "It is about you and Raven," she seemed uncertain, but he waved her words forward, assuring her it was okay to ask, "How did you know that she is the one you care for most?"

_**Damn. Who knew this girl could ask such a hard question?**_

_**I mean, there was this one time when I had to explain to her the difference between melancholy and depression-- and actually I remember her asking Robin first-- whatever...In the end, she had to get an answer from Raven. Of course, she laid it on thick and ended up making Starfire very distracted for a couple of days.**_

_**I mean come on-- melancholy and depression. They're both mean sadness.**_

_**Anyway, how do I answer this question...**_

"Beast Boy, you do not have to answer," she sighed.

_**Whooo-- that was a close one...**_

"It is just that I have noticed how much you've been talking to her. I've noticed that you seem very comfortable with her despite the fighting. I was curious..." she diverted her gaze from his intent one.

_**I've never really seen Starfire very serious. I know that she can be, but I figured at this point, this conversation isn't about me and Raven, but her and Robin. Maybe she wants to come clean about her and Speedy?**_

_**And I learned that little woman trick some time ago when, as odd as it was, Raven was asking me for advice on what she should wear on her supposed 'date', with this supposed 'boy'. Of course, she was quite frustrated with me when I told her that it didn't matter what she wore, I wouldn't have noticed anyway.**_

_**Yeah, she kicked me out-- that was a couple of years ago. I wouldn't tell her something pig-brained like that now, but also because Cyborg explained to me that sometimes girl's ask for your opinion on something that seems totally unrelated or irrelevant, but it's so they can get us to open up emotionally when we're not looking.**_

_**Don't ask me how he has enough experience to figure that out, but he's right...**_

"Star, I just know. I just know that she's someone I can see myself spending a lot of time with-- whenever we're together-- it just makes sense." his gaze became misty in reflection, "Even though we argue a lot, it's the way that we work through the arguments that makes me know this can work." Starfire nodded, and found that his answer was very reassuring, "And besides, Raven's totally hot."

Starfire giggled, "Thanks Friend, you have done the helping more than you know." and with that she left the table, and ascended the stairs.

"And 'Raven's totally hot'? Did you really have to add that part in there? She was looking for emotional support not hormone support." Cyborg remarked, taking a seat across the table from him.

The green boy stuck his tongue out, "Yes, I'm not going to lie to the girl. And besides, if she wanted emotional support why didn't she ask you-- the Love Guru?"

"Ha ha-- she wanted a guy's opinion from a guy in a committed relationship."

"We're not even together-- quit ragging on me. I mean, is that all anyone talks about in this Tower anymore?"

Cyborg chuckled to himself, "Really, it's not that biga deal. Wanna go do something today? Kill time since you bailed on Midnight Movie Madness."

"I would, but I kinda already made plans with a dark-haired girl. You might know her-- the one you frequently pick on me about?"

"I get the picture." the half-metal boy replied with apathy, "Whatcha gonna do?"

"She asked me to help her with something today."

"Oh, what does she want you to move today?"

"Very funny, but she didn't really specify. She said it had to do with her specifically though."

"Hell's freezin' over."

"Yeah really." he grinned.

_**Normally, Raven only asks me to move furniture for her, and she's only asked my opinion on clothing once...**_

_**Just as long as this doesn't turn out to be the time she asked me to move her dresser, or the time she wanted to re-organize her bookcase...**_

_**Actually, it was pretty funny when she pointed out that I didn't know how to alphabetize properly—funny for her at least… :p**_

Raven walked down the stairs, and approached her teammates, "Afternoon, boys." she smiled softly.

"See ya later B." Cyborg said winking at his friend.

Beast Boy rolled his eyes, "You ready to go do this thing-- whatever you wanted my help with?"

_**Ew, I really hope this doesn't turn out like the time we cleaned out underneath her bed. Don't ask.**_

_**She suckered me into it with free tofu bites, and melon ice cream...**_

"Yes." she replied confidently, but found herself unable to meet his eyes.

He tilted her chin upward with his fingertip, "Let's go then."

**_Ooohh, maybe it'll be like the time I convinced her to burn the book that was Malchior... : D_**

**_That was pretty sweet. Laughing and carrying on like there was no tomorrow._**

The curious and young-at-heart boy followed the mysterious, and wise dark-haired girl upstairs. Once they arrived on the rooftop, she looked him straight in the eyes, "Teach me to jump."

"Jump?" bewilderment danced across his impressionable features, "Don't you already know how to do that?"

"No, I mean off the roof. Like you did the night we came back from defeating Slade the first time."

"Oh, you mean after Terra sacrificed herself." he became quiet for a moment.

She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "I didn't mean to bring that up--"

"No, it's okay." he backed up a few steps, "You mean like this?" bolting away from her in a lightning quick sprint. He spread his arms widely while whooping loudly before he leapt off the edge of the Tower railing. Sailing downward in falcon form, until he whipped upward over the jagged rocks and wailing sea crests.

He circled the beachside a few moments to slow his reckless speed before flying upward and landing gracefully next to Raven, "Like that?" he asked as her eyes sparkled with admiration, but when he looked at her the spark washed away again.

"Who knew you could be jealous of me?"

"Who said I was jealous?" she chided while leaning on the railing.

"It was just a hunch. But you shouldn't be jealous; I just make it look easy. And I really never told you why I jumped..."

"Hopefully not something depressing?" her voice was one of a blended statement; half-statement, half-question.

"A little I guess," he admitted, "I was sad that Terra was gone, but I was so happy that Slade was gone. So I wanted to try something just to see if I could. I've dreamed of nailing that dive so many times." He locked his gaze with hers, "That and I wanted to feel free again."

She was silent a moment, soaking in the deeper meaning of the word 'free', "You mean you were that graceful on the first try?"

"Basically." he chuckled, "Now let's see you."

Raven let out a deep breath, "I can't do it. I'm too nervous."

He leaned forward, and whispered in her ear, "All you need is a little adrenaline rush..." he allowed his breath to linger on her neck before he reclaimed the distance between them. She shook away all the shivers that his whispers brought, and walked away from the railing. The dark-haired girl would never admit it, but feeling him whisper in her ears always gave her the shivers-- and warm fuzzies.

Raven walked away from the railing, and towards the door. She faced the railing again, and allowed a relaxed breath to escape her. She started to run, but stopped short and skidded to a halt in front of him. Her clear purple gaze captured his attention, "Would it help if I jumped with you?"

She nodded meekly. He took her hand confidently, and walked her back. They took a deep breath before the pair sprinted across the roof. Another short heartbeat passed before they leapt into a dangerous freefall. Excitement bounced through her every fiber as the wind rush past her face, "You'll have to pull up before me." was all he let go of her hand. And in a rush of feathers a green falcon appeared soaring over the sea rocks.

A terrible fear grabbed her once his hand left the confines of her own. She pulled up a few seconds too late which resulted in her knee cutting across one of the shore rocks. She slowed herself down once she'd skimmed over the salty water. She changed direction and headed towards shore. Landing on her unscathed leg, she then flopped onto the sandy beachside.

He landed next to her, "Are you okay?" he asked staring at her knee with no tact whatsoever.

"I'm fine." She replied evenly while smoothing her hand over the cut mark. A flicker of blue washed over her kneecap before vanishing completely. She crossed her legs and stared out into the ocean.

"Did you feel free?" he asked casually while laying stomach-down in the sand near her. He crossed his arms, rested his head upon them, and closed his eyes.

"Not really. Just out of control."

"It'll be better when you can jump by yourself." He grinned.

"I guess." She replied softly as though her voice wanted to say more.

The two relaxed into a calm silence as they remained lost in their own thoughts. But finally she broke the hush between them, "Beast Boy, why did you kiss me yesterday?"

_**More hard questions!! Damn women… : P**_

"Because it was what I wanted to do, Raven. I always follow my feelings, and they haven't led me wrong yet."

"That's why you're so impulsive too, isn't it? You follow every whim right?"

"What are you getting at?" he yawned, a slight annoyance in his voice, "But yeah, I don't have to think about something before I do it or it's no fun anymore."

"It might sound unusual to you," her voice maintaining its calm allure, "but I want to be more impulsive. Like you."

Beast Boy nearly choked, _Is she being serious?_ It took him a few moments, but he finally replied, "Why would you want to do that?"

"Do you know what it feels like to second-guess yourself about everything and about every decision you make? Wondering if you made the right choice—and if you don't--" her voice trailed off, and embarrassment stole her voice.

"Raven, if you really want to be more impulsive, then you're going to have to trust yourself first." He replied nonchalantly, as though it was the easiest thing in the world.

He seemed ready to speak more, but she cut him short, "I don't know if I can do that."

"Maybe not today, but eventually-- if it's what you really want."

"Beast Boy," she sighed, "I'm sorry about what happened at the Mall."

_**Ah, my favorite part. Raven's apologies are the best. : DDD**_

"I should've told you about Riona's wolf. I didn't want you to worry, and I wanted to protect you. We were having fun, you know?"

"It's okay, Rae." He sat up, and pressed his forehead to hers, "But only because you're my Turtledove."

She feigned irritation, "If you're going to call me something so ridiculous—" she paused looking into his hurt eyes, "and sweet. I need to call you something too."

His eyes lit up, "I thought you didn't like pet names Rae-Rae."

She ignored his teasing, and for once, leaned forward to whisper into his delicate ear, "What if I call you—" shivers flew down his spine at her closeness he could barely pay attention. She looked him in the eyes waiting for his approval, "I'd like that." He replied languorously, "What's your policy on codenames then?" he continued while blinking cutely at her.

She rolled her eyes, "I have to go talk to Starfire okay? You should probably talk to Cyborg. He's been worried about you lately."

"Worried about me?" he quirked his ears. His question only met sound of the waves on the shoreline. So without further question, he flew back to the upstairs. Wandering into the main room, he found Cyborg on the couch. The green-eyed boy approached his friend cautiously, "Cyborg?"

The brown-eyed boy glanced at him, "Whatcha doing?" he asked with a smile, "Did you help Raven with her furniture?"

_**I swear… : (**_

"She wanted me to teach her how to jump." He replied simply before flopping on the couch. He raised a brow at his explanation, but Beast Boy just shrugged, "Don't ask."

There were a few minutes of awkward silence before Beast Boy finally decided to get straight to the point, "Cy, Raven told me you've been worried about me—is that true?"

A small sigh escaped the half-metal Titan, "Yeah, but before you go off, just hear me out."

"I'm listening." He responded politely, giving his friend a small smile-- nervousness pricking at his very being.

"Do you remember a few days ago when I told you I that I felt like you were changing because of Raven?" the green boy nodded and gritted his teeth withholding his reaction once more, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that about you. You're just growing up. And I guess it worries me because I'm afraid of who you'll grow up to be. That I might lose my friend." His voice was clear and unwavering.

_**And he rips on me for being emotional? : P**_

"I know you're worried about us being tight or whatever, but I don't ignore you on purpose-- I forget stuff."

"You don't forget Raven."

"Let me finish," he puffed out his chest in mock aloofness, "You know how we only recently explained to you and Star about Riona? Well, I never told you about how pushy and secretive Robin was being about the whole thing. And I know that I was trying to look out for the team, but I cut you out of it. I shouldn't have because it was selfish." He sighed, "I always be your friend Cyborg-- you're my best friend-- but I'm just trying to find myself. That's all. And you can say it's lame or chick-like if you want to-- but I need to grow-up-- as you say-- and into the right person." His solemn expression quickly burning into a bright grin.

It took Cyborg a moment, but he couldn't help but start to crack up laughing, "That's what I'm talking about. You could be an inspirational speaker for sure."

"Yeah, and you'd make a great psychologist." He exclaimed joining in his laughter.

After a few minutes, their laughter died down again. The brown-eyed boy glanced at his friend, "So we cool then?"

"Definitely. Robotman Commander?"

"Sure." Cyborg replied, clicking on the television and pushing the GameStation on.

At that moment, Beast Boy wondered what Raven and Starfire were talking about…

Raven knocked cautiously on Starfire's door-- feeling apprehension wrap itself around her heart; the orange-haired girl said she had something very important--Robin-related to talk about. A million thoughts rushed into a swirling hurricane of emotions and confusion as she waited for the pale grey door to open. Starfire slid the door open, "Are you alone?"

"I'm alone Starfire. Let me in." her voice laced with an edge of annoyance.

Raven sat on the end of Starfire's fluffy pink bed while the alien paced back and forth. Finally, she seemed ready to talk; her form loosened and words fell from her mouth like stars from the sky, "Do you remember when I told you about Speedy saying that my English is not adequate? How I told you that I was getting better for myself? How I've been practicing? Did I also tell you that some reason Speedy will not talk to me?" and just when Raven thought Starfire would take a breath, another explosion of wordy emotion spurt from her, "And that Robin and I may not have the feelings for each other anymore? That Robin proposed to me? That I--"

"Woah-- slow down Starfire. Robin proposed to you? When was this?" a ripple of unadulterated shock flowed through her.

"About a week ago." She replied softly, "I told him I'm not ready for that yet."

"Alright, so now why won't Speedy talk to you? And even better question, why should you care? I know he's a teammate of ours, but you two really don't talk enough to be friends-- have you?"

Starfire had been exceptionally open that day and Raven figured that the guilt she'd had pent up over the cheating was finally biting into her conscious. She was beginning to crack, but she still purposefully avoided the question, "I do not know what to do about Robin. He has been very pushy."

"Your boyfriend wants to spend time with you-- that's pushy?" she spoke sharply.

Starfire bristled at Raven sudden snide remark, "I can't spend every moment with him like you do Beast Boy."

All openness Starfire had just displayed disappeared again. Raven wanted to slap herself for letting her personal feelings get in the way again, _If I'd just kept my mouth shut for like five more minutes she might've spilled…_the dark-haired girl calmed herself, "And why would that be? So you can spend time with someone else? We haven't been exactly busy."

The implications of her sentence finally hit Starfire. She kept the shock out of her voice, and spoke with the coldest tone she could muster, "What are you speaking of Raven? I have wanted the space."

Raven felt her heart being torn in two different directions; she was Robin's friend, and Starfire's friend. She wanted to help Robin, but she didn't want to hurt Starfire to do it. She had to understand _why_ Starfire was doing what she was doing, "Starfire, please talk to me about this. He doesn't understand, nor do I."

"What's to understand? I am not ready to marry. He doesn't understand that." She admitted slowly, keeping her guard up.

A fire of resentment and cautious advances entrapped the room. The dark-haired girl knew that all of her personal feelings had to be denied if she intended to prevent any more personal attacks from occurring, "Is that what he's being pushy about?"

"No. He wants to know why I've been spending so much time with Speedy."

"And why don't you just tell him Starfire? I'm sure he'll understand." She grit out, fighting the truth that was trying to rise from her words.

The red-head seemed to be taking her words to heart, "Raven, I would like to be alone."

The purple-eyed girl gave her teammate one final look, feeling a calm wash over her as she walked out of the door. Quickly, she walked down the hallway and into the main room. Although she wanted to speak with Robin about what she had learned, she felt that it would be better for one of the boys to break it to him. Slowly she approached Beast Boy and Cyborg as they were locked in an intense game of Robot Commander.

"What the—you can't do that!" Cyborg exclaimed, "You said you did want to include grenade add-ons!"

"Oh, I didn't tell you that? My bad." The playful boy cackled, mashing buttons that in turn were quickly killing Cyborg's army off.

Raven watched with a cloistered upset; but she didn't want to interrupt their fun. Suddenly, Cyborg leapt off the couch, "TAKE THAT YOU GRASS STAIN!!" he hollered happily, gaining the upper-hand.

She watched the screen as Cyborg's robots brutally wiped out half of Beast Boy's army. The green boy fumed, "Just you wait…" he grumbled, but then added, "What'cha want Raven? You can play if you want."

_**This brings up a fond memory. Fond for me anyway. :P**_

_**I normally ask Raven if she wants to play too, even though I always know she'll say no. But there was this one time she actually said yes. But I won, of course, that's no victory to me. But Cyborg said he wanted a shot too, and she beat him. Hah, I thought it was hilarious. But he kept insisting that he 'let her win'.**_

"No. I'm fine thanks. But I have a favor to ask you two, whenever you're done playing."

'PAUSE' flashed on the screen, and the two turned around to face her, "What is it?!" they asked together, sounding very on-edge.

"I just need you two to talk to Robin for me…about Starfire."

"We can do that now." Beast Boy offered, ready to leapt into action.

"No, it's better if you wait. We don't need anymore conflict today." She replied softly, taking a seat by Beast Boy. Tiredly, she leaned back in the couch.

The boys resumed their game playing, and loud retorts. Shortly, night fall came and the three had not left the couch yet. Beast Boy was about to leapt up from the couch in triumph again, but he felt an extra weight on his shoulder. Glancing to his side, he found that sometime over the course of their video games, she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. His heart fluttered and he completely forgot about the game. He brushed back some of her stray locks.

"C'mon B, one more round." His friend's voice cutting through the calm reflection.

"In a minute, I'm going to take her upstairs."

"If you can lift her."

"I moved her bookcase, I think I can handle it." He quipped, lolling his tongue.

He lifted her with slight difficulty into his arms. As he carried her to her room, he crossed paths with Starfire, "Hey Star." He gave her a small smile. The girl merely gave him an empty look and continued walking.

**_I really wish I knew what was up with her lately-- besides the obvious…_**

He finally made it to the dark-haired girl's room. Laying her onto the bed, he felt her stirring as his fingertips left her side, "Beast Boy? What are you doing?"

"It's late. You fell asleep downstairs." He pressed a kiss to her forehead, before walking away from the bed.

"But I haven't told you--"

"It's okay, I'm sure Robin will spill what's bothering them both." He assured her, "Night."

"Night." She dropped the argument, "And thanks." The door slid shut. She yawned widely, and relaxed into sleep again.

_**So more drama ensues. Blah… I'm tired, and she's contagious. Is it strange that I want to take care of her more than anyone else I've ever met? I guess not.**_

_**But still I wonder…**_

_**-B.B.**_

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Yay for updates. :D


	12. December 5th

Okay ya'll. Sorry it took so long, once again. But I needed to make sure I got everything written right before posting. And I'm sorry if this story seems to be setting up terribly slow, but I promise, action is only a chapter away. :p Lol.

Also thank you all so much for your lovely reviews and this story has finally broken 100-- a dream of mine-- so YYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!! :DDDDDD

Also, I thought some of you would find it interesting to know that this story is much longer than I had originally written. When I had first started writing this story it only had chapters 1,2,6, and 10. And I was going to post them in that order. Imagine how content lacking it would be if I'd rushed into posting. :o

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

**acosta perez jose ramiro:** Yeah, I was trying to remember to tackle their situations-- it's really hard for me to break away from the BBRae bond surprizingly. :

**Agent of the Divine One:** Knowing those two, it might be awhile.

**Mr. Average:** Thanks so much! I tried to keep my story well balanced.

**CLAREsaysHI:** I'm really glad that my story cheered you up. Whenever I start writing something, I always hope that it makes someone's day. :) And I wrote about the impulsiveness because I think a lot of people can relate to that and I just was thinking that Raven has always had to be calm-- her whole life-- I mean, you have to want to see the other side sooner or later eh? ;)

**SxStrngSamurai13:** Yayness. Thanks again.

**Raven'sWinterRaine:** It's not soon, but it's something! :D

**Raven of Alaska:** Don't worry, everything always works out for the best in my stories-- not always happily however.

**BBRaefan:** That is unsual-- about not liking angst but Raven being your favorite character.

**titanfan45:** Glad you like it. :

**iluvbb:** Lol. I thought so, that little green bean trying to move a bookcase-- hah.

**Akki Rei:** Thanks, and I'm really glad that my story has made you happy.

**Storyreader16:** Thanks, and I look forward to your next review. ;)

_**Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots...**_ Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic _thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

* * *

**Explain This to Me**

**_December 5th 2007 11:59:10 am_**

**_It is often said if a man is dealt an endless wealth of happiness his heart will grow into an indifferent one. For happiness is a given and not mere chance for him. Restlessness will overtake him, and his drive to succeed will melt into complacency._**

**_But for a man with endless troubles, the opposite is true. He will fight against the injustices dealt him until he wins, or until he is dead from exhaustion. Sadness may sometimes cause complacency; but that kind of man will always appreciate the fleeting happiness he is given…_**

Robin stormed down the stairwell that led to the main room. Raven and Cyborg were quick to move, and stay out of his way, but Beast Boy wasn't so sharp. He blinked curiously at his frustrated teammate from afar before finally asking the question the others didn't dare ask, "What's up with you?"

The dark-haired boy stopped moving as though he'd suddenly hit a brick wall. He squared his narrow gaze with the green-eyed boy's, "Nothing." He bit back the sharp retort that lingered in his mind.

Beast Boy seemed ready to question the matter further, but when Starfire came storming down the stairs everyone knew what the problem was…

**_Whenever Starfire and Robin have an argument—I hate to say it—but they can be even worse than Raven and I. At least when the two of us fight, the fact that we care about each other still remains. But when it comes to those two, it's always been a maze of emotions that seem to counteract each other and explode into a million pieces._**

Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy snuck out of the kitchen swiftly. Walking back up the stairwell, they could already hear the arguing begin. The three stopped short however; they found themselves drawn to hear what they were arguing about. It had been quite a while since the two had fought in front of the others.

"Let me help you with that Star. I wouldn't want you to have to go out of your way-- especially not for me." Robin snapped, offering her a glass.

Starfire took the glass from him rudely, "Why ever would you say that? You're the only one who's ever 'out of my way'." She stalked away from him, and sat down at the table.

Glass shattered and fell to the floor—the dark-haired boy stormed out of the Tower's main room, and slammed the door behind him. Starfire feigned indifference and picked at her food. Cautiously, their other teammates descended the stairs and resumed their places at the breakfast table. An unusual silence surrounded the table as the teens ate their food.

Breakfast was nearly through, but Raven finally summoned the courage to ask the questions the others dare not ask, "What was that about Starfire? Trouble in paradise as usual?"

The boys paled at the dark-haired girl's frigid comment. Surprisingly, Starfire seemed to shrink at her words, "Nothing." Her voice much more timid than had ever been heard by any of the Titans—ever.

It was then that Raven realized that there was, yet again, more to the story than Starfire was telling her. Frustration flooded her senses, "Keep it to yourself then. See if I care." Raven disappeared in a blur of black.

The boys glanced towards one another, and then back at their emerald-eyed teammate. She looked considerably pale, and looked almost ready to cry. But she remained strong in the face adversary, and merely picked up her plate, deposited it into the dishwasher, and returned upstairs. Beast Boy looked up at Cyborg, "You know what we have to do."

"Actually, I kinda have a date with Bumblebee…" he trailed off with guilt heavy in his voice.

The green boys sighed, "Fine. I'll do it myself."

"Better not. It'll work itself out. I mean, Rob and Star always have fights like those. They blow over, and they're all lovey-dovey the next week or so."

"But this time is different! Raven and I know something about Starfire that we shouldn't know…"

Cyborg gave him a curious look, "What could you two possibly know? And why haven't you told me yet?"

"It hadn't really come up yet." He grinned sheepishly, feeling guilty for yet again seemingly purposely leaving his best friend out of the loop, "I was meaning to tell you if it ever came up again—really. But you can't tell anyone."

"I won't. Spit it out then." he impatiently demanded.

"Star's cheating on Robin with Speedy!"

Cyborg's jaw dropped; he shook his head in disbelief a few times, "You have to be pulling my leg."

"Ask Raven, it's true. You know I don't like team drama, or gossip or whatever, but Raven accidentally saw them—in the hallway. And then she told me."

"Ah, that's why she was coming out of your room that morning." He nodded to himself while his friend bristled indignantly.

"She was upset, and I comforted her."

"Oh really?"

"Nothing happened dammit." He growled.

The half-metal man raised his hands in defense, "Sorry, I didn't mean to rile you up about that. I was just curious." He glanced down at his arm, "Well, I don't know what to say B.; I have to go meet Bumblebee now. Good luck with the drama." He chuckled while exiting the room.

**_Maybe Cyborg's right, maybe I shouldn't stick my nose any further into this mess. I just hate seeing our team fight and argue like that. I wish it'd go away sometimes…_**

A few hours later, Beast Boy was still to settled on the couch idly watching TV. He hadn't really been able to focus or concentrate whatsoever. Rising from the couch he exited the room in search of his favorite dark-haired teammate. He approached his teammate's door, and found it to be open so he let himself in. Glancing around the book-littered room, he noticed her lithe form on the bed, "Don't you know how to knock?" she prodded, flipping a few pages of her book.

"You know it doesn't bother anyone else if I just walk into their room." He replied, deciding to be even bolder and sit on the edge of her bed, "Why'd you say that thing to Star this morning?"

"I'm not in the mood—oh my—look at this!" her thought completely derailed into what new information she'd discovered.

He stared into the pages of the book, and skimmed over the writing, "What specifically are we talking 'bout here?"

"It's about Biomorphicism—I can learn how to use it." She returned the book to her lap.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Rae. I mean, we saw what it can do to people, why would you want to replicate that?"

"It's a double-edged sword—"she explained, "It has the potential for deconstructing the body, but it also has an embodiment of regenerative properties."

"Huh?" he quirked a brow at her.

She then began to read straight from the book, "'Although this magic type is most commonly used to destroy one's enemies, it can also be used to repair and fix those damaged. Any kind of injury can be healed through this process—blindness, lame limbs, and even bones can be converted into muscle tissue.'" She paused to look at him, wearing an empowered and proud look he'd rarely ever witnessed, "'Although this process can be risky, and few have mastered it, it is completely doable.'"

He took the book from her, much to her distaste, "'Take heed, for a misused, improperly executed attempt can cause severe damage to its user and patient.'" He stared into her eager purple eyes, "You can't be serious Raven. What if it overtakes your own magic type?"

"It says that this type can be doubled with any other type. I only have to worry about it taking over my own power type when it comes from someone else. Don't you understand what this means? We have a counter to Riona's power."

He'd never seen such excitement or triumph in those bright eyes of hers—and for some unknown reason to him he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach—call it instinct, "Do what you think is best Raven. I think it's a bad idea." He flipped a few pages, "Oh, this is interesting—'Those who survive an attack from this power, may suffer from temporary overdose of aggression, and nightmares of the owner's past. Although it is rare to survive-- thus its potency-- if a person is attacked again they will have some immunity to it, the symptoms, and the threat of death will be reduced significantly.'"

"That explains your dream." She spoke, "And why you were so eager to fight Robin."

"Nah, I would've done that anyway." He chuckled, "I was thinking about what you said about being more spontaneous," he handed the book back to her, "What if we have a sleepover at 'Our Place'? Or we could camp out on the beachside of the Tower, make S'mores! And tofu dogs!"

Her smile disappeared into the curves of her face, "I don't think so Beast Boy."

"It'll be fun." He quirked his lips to one side, "Okay, then how about you come up with something."

She breathed out, "I'm really busy right now. And now isn't really the time to be selfish. Considering I've just made a breakthrough in our enemy's trade."

"You always do this Raven. Every time I get closer to you, you pull away again. Why can't we just—"

"Be a couple?" she interrupted, "And end up like Starfire and Robin?"

"We're not going to end up like them. Would you relax? But I get it; I'll leave you to your work. Don't work too hard." He replied, raising his hands in defeat, and backing out of her room. She watched him leave with a heavy heart, before burying her nose into a book again.

**_I don't think I really realized how much this whole RobStar thing has been affecting her. I can understand her reasoning though. I know I'd never cheat, but then again, I'd never think of Star as a cheater either…_**

A few hours later, Raven decided to try and find Beast Boy to show him what she'd had learned; a few hours of practice had taught her a lot. She walked downstairs and glanced around the living room expecting him to be parked in front of the TV. But he wasn't. After awhile, she couldn't find him, and gave up hope. Instead, she sauntered up to the roof of the Tower to meditate.

Even though it was no longer necessary for her to do so, old habits die hard. After a few minutes, her concentration was broken by a memory. She floated downward and reclined on her back. While Raven lay flat on the rooftop, she remembered all the times she'd lay in that spot thinking about him…

_It was so stupid of me. I put the team in danger—my family could've been dead because of those stupid feelings. Her mind huffed as she wiped away a few drips of water that had formed beneath her eyes, I'll be happy if I never feel that way again…_

_A cool summer breeze brushed past her face. Her hair flying into its inviting escape, but a warm voice broke through the frosty calm of night fall, "You've been up here all day—are you okay?"_

"_I'm fine. I just want to be alone."_

"_I brought you some dinner. And tea—tea I brewed right—hopefully." He chuckled while placing the plate and cup a ruler's length away from her head._

_He was about to leave her in her peaceful recluse but a thought hit her, "Do you ever think the stars come out at night to prove they still exist?"_

_He wore a confused expression at first but he then realized that she was having a relapse of thought again; shortly after she had defeated Malchior from time to time the team found her asking questions that didn't make any sense to mask her feelings of lose and confusion and they were always questions no one could answer—_

"_Nah, I think they come out to dance. Because it's better to dance in the cool, night air."_

_--except for him._

_He took a spot opposite her food. Lying on his back, he stared up at the pink and blue clouds that were fading into purple and navy. There was a long silence between them. Finally, she took in a deep breath, "And what would they dance to—there's no music in the heavens."_

"_Whatever their hearts were singing—maybe someone sings for the others." He replied simply before beginning to sing quietly. The music that parted his lips was a quiet ballad filled with low notes; but for the chorus, a symphony of mid- and high ranged notes. Slowly his voice blended into the whispering night air wind. And then his sensitive ears picked up on a sob-like snuffle, "What's wrong? Please tell me. We all really missed you at dinner." He sat up to look at her._

"_Your song was beautiful—I never knew you could sing like that—" she sat up to look him in the eyes while brushing away a few saltwater drops, "Why share it with me?"_

"_It's something my mother used to sing to me whenever I was sad, or if I had a nightmare to help me fall asleep. I don't know what it's called, but I thought it might help." He gave her a half-smile._

_Hesitation was thrown aside as she wrapped her arms tightly around his midsection. He rubbed her back softly, ignoring the painfully cold wetness that was soaking his shirt, "Raven why do you torture yourself over him?"_

_Her voice cracked in reply._

"_You're worth more than that."_

"_But everyone was in danger because of me—because of my stupid feelings."_

"_Feelings aren't stupid—especially not yours. It's just sad that his feelings weren't genuine—he's missing out on a lot."_

_Her watery purple eyes stared into his starry ones. It was the first time he'd ever looked at her that way. The stained glass that had been painted over her clear eyes was brushed away by his fingertips, "He's not even worth your tears, Raven."_

"_Beast Boy," her voice cooed quietly, staring into the night sky, "Look, a falling star."_

_He looked up to see a star crashing downward, "Yeah, look, there's more." Her added, pointing as a rain of stars cut through the navy sky and fell through the bright lights of the city,"They musta tripped."_

_A small laugh escaped her, and he spoke again, "You can make __**light**__ of any situation." He grinned as she rolled her eyes, "Your dinner's cold."_

"_It was sweet of you, but I'm not really hungry."_

_A whip of frigid air whisked past their faces. Shivers ran down his spine, "Wanna go inside? It's getting cold out here."_

_She lifted her cloak and wrapped it around his shoulders before scooting close to his side, "I think it's nice out."_

_He smiled and returned his gaze skyward…_

_Of course, the next morning they had great difficulty explaining their casual sleepover…_

Raven sighed deeply, as yet again, a recollection of inherent kindness reminded her of the feelings they currently shared. She couldn't help it—and her independence hated it. But she hated upsetting him more. She walked to the Tower railing and saw him trailing a stick in the sand as he sat by the beachside. She flew down carefully to his side, "Hey." He greeted trailing another line in the sand.

"If it's any recollection—I'm sorry."

"It's cool." He replied with a coldness uncharacteristic of him.

"I was wondering if you would catch me a starfish."

His head whipped around as though she'd asked him the most personal thing in the world, "Why?"

"I want to show you what I've learned."

"No." her grumbled staring at the sand, "I'm not letting you kill a defenseless starfish to show me witchcraft."

"Don't call it that." She bristled, "I've learned a new way to heal—"

Finally aggravated with her incessant arguing, he leapt into the water as an otter. A few heartbeats later he returned to the surface with a starfish in his mouth. He took human forma again, "Here-- take your stupid specimen!" he half-threw it at her before flopping in the sand.

Glaring, she sat directly in front of him and cracked one of the starfish's legs at the base. Horrified he stared at her as the creature squirmed in her hands. She tossed the leg aside (he wanted to go after it however); she held the starfish with one hand while the other glowed and crackled blue sparks near its injury. The starfish's arm grew back in a few heartbeats.

Stunned and in utter disbelief, "Everyone knows starfish can regenerate!"

She tossed the starfish into the water, "Then fetch me something else then. The principle is the same. I've learned how to use the healing side of Biomorpicism."

He gave her a mixed look—he didn't know to feel pride or astonishment or fear. Sighing, "You've proved your point-- is that what you wanted to hear?"

"No," her voice soothed, "I know you're worried, but you don't need to be. I know what I'm doing."

"I still worry."

She sat next to him, "I appreciate you looking out for me. I really do. I just may feel it will be our only counter against her. I had to do something."

He continued to stare into the ocean, "Just be careful."

"I will." She sighed sitting next to him, "I couldn't find you earlier—where were you?"

"I went to talk to Robin." He replied, with a grim distaste.

"And?" she tried to keep the eagerness out of her voice.

His emerald gaze pierced hers, "She'd killing him slowly—she really is." There was no warmth in his voice as he spoke, only confusion in his face and a feeling of betrayal in his voice.

_There he is... Beast Boy mused, staring down from his high perch, If he wanted to be alone, he should've turned off his locator signal. _

_The dove swooped downward towards the café across the street from his perch. Morphing into a human again, he took a seat across from the dark-haired boy, "Don't even think of leaving—I want to know what's going on."  
_

_The masked boy looked up from his coffee, "If I wanted to be alone I would've turned off my communicator. I just can't be around her right now." He sighed and then continued, "I'm sure you've already heard that I've proposed to her—the stupidest thing I could've ever done."_

_The green boy's ears swiveled, "I hadn't heard that. That's great isn't it, though?"_

"_I thought it was." He grumbled taking a long drink, "I love her. There's no one else for me. At least that's what I was thinking when I asked her. I mean, were already twenty-three working on twenty-four. How much older do you have to be?"_

"_I don't think it has to do with age." Beast Boy cut in meekly._

"_Well, it's what she says anyway—maybe I came on too strong. I don't know. All I know is she said 'No', and now she won't even look at me. I've been asking her out to dinner lately, but once again—'I'm busy'." He groaned, laying his head on the cool metal table._

_Beast Boy had never really admitted it to his teammates before, but his sharpened senses normally told him exactly how others were feeling—like a vibe or sensation. Everything that was emanating from Robin was filled with guilt, and a painful confusion. He felt dejected, used, and completely unsure of himself—a million things melting into a swath of depression…everything Beast Boy had felt when Terra left all those years ago._

"_Don't blame yourself. She's not ready, she's not ready. That's all there is too it." he replied in the kindest voice he could muster, but inside an internal conflict boiled hotter than any flame._

"_No, that's not it." He sat up, and slammed a fist on the table, "Some of the other Titans," he paused as though choosing his words carefully, "I know it's stupid to listen to their endless banter and teasing, but they we telling me a few days ago that 'I shouldn't get so caught up in little Miss Priss,' as they called her," Beast Boy paled when he used that nickname—the nickname __**he **__used-- for Starfire, "She's already moved on they said. That she's got a thing on the side. And she doesn't need a grumpy, overbearing guy like me." He glared at his coffee._

"_You've never let their stupid words aggravate you before, why now?" he replied, "You don't need to worry about them. They pick on Rae and me a lot too."_

"_Beast Boy, you would tell me if Starfire was—" he looked unable to bring himself to say it, "Cheating right?"_

_The younger boy's voice caught in his throat. It was a long pause before he could answer, "I know she loves you Robin, and people who love each other don't do that to each other." He felt like such a liar for not telling Robin—it just didn't feel right telling him at that moment, however._

_The answer seemed to satisfy Robin—for the moment—he sounded a little happier, "You know where they got that nickname for her?" _

"_I haven't the faintest." He quirked a brow._

"_They said you call her that when you're irritated with her." He chuckled._

_Beast Boy tugged on his collar, "Yeah, well, I've never—" it was then that it had dawned upon him—someone was reading his journal—someone had read his journal and was giving it as a nice spread to the others, "--said it out loud before…" he grumbled, "Robin, I've been writing a journal about stuff that's been going on, and I think they read it."_

_The Boy Wonder scratched his head in confusion, "When would they have time to do that?"_

"_I don't know. Somebody read it though. And I'm going to find out who-- justice will be mine!" he cried dramatically._

_Robin gave him a half-smile, "I'll keep an eye out for you."_

"_You watch my back—I watch your back thing eh? Don't we do that already?" _

_The two boys knocked their fists together, before their man-talk dwindled into idle conversation…_

Raven nodded, "Now you see why I'm so angry with her. I just don't see how she can do that to him—is he here now?"

"Go look for yourself." He replied, distracted as a thought about the eminent danger of others reading his journal crossed his mind.

"And now you're back to being mean again." She sighed while standing up.

"I'm mean?!" he grinned up at her, "Miss 'I Don't Like Sleepovers'."

"You remember how the last one we had ended up." She chided beginning to fly upward.

"I'm surprised you remember." He retorted, "I think I remember ending up on _top_ in that situation." Wiggling his eyebrows at her suggestively.

"We were asleep-- okay—I thought you were part of the covers." She rolled her eyes.

"Those were pretty heavy covers." He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Don't make me hurt you."

**_One time when Raven had been obsessing over how she could've prevented the Malchior incident, I went to comfort her on the roof. And we had fallen asleep up there, and in the morning, I found that she had by some brute strength pulled me like halfway over her._**

**_Of course that was when everyone had to find us there. Or else it wouldn't be situational irony! Or life for that matter. Another White moment for mwah._**

**_Yeah, I had, just HAD to make a naughty comment if you know what I mean, and she decided to give me a black eye._**

**_Yes. It was a beautiful, wonderful-- absolutely terrible mark._**

"I think the black eye you gave me was enough. It's not my fault you were on the rebound hungry for attention."

"When did that happen? I forgot that part." She remarked sarcastically, continuing to fly upward.

"Really?" he feigned innocence.

"Sarcasm!" she yelled back exasperated, finally flying up the rest of the way.

He chuckled to himself, but made no move to leave the beach. Lying back in the warm sun soaked sand, he wondered how everything would turn out next…

**_Okay, so I guess Rob and Star are on like the rockiest terms ever. And Rae and I—is one of those 'idk' situations. So whatever happens next, I'm ready. Throw it at me, and I'll catch it. And whoever's been reading this, I hope you're happy—you've now officially made me a nervous wreck. Because if Robin finds out I lied to him, I don't know what I'll do._**

**_-B.B._**

Alrighty then. Thanks for all the continuing support. And hopefully my updates will be quicker-- two more weeks of college left!! :D


	13. December 9th

Once again, sorry for the later update. Still struggling over here in collegeland. :P Anyway, I have much more to write for this stroy, but I feel I must ask-- even though some of you might find it stupid-- are you guys still interested in this story? Or is it boring you? It's a slow build I know. :(

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

**acosta perez jose ramiro:** Lol. I guess we'll find out who the journal perpetrator is...

**Agent of the Divine One:** As usual, I try to put out fires. But we all know how hopeless that can be.

**Mr. Average:** Much Hell in the making soon. :

**CLAREsaysHI:** Hopefully this will be up to your expectations.

**Raven'sWinterRaine:** Of course. :D

**Raven of Alaska:** Lol.

**BBRaefan:** That's a good point. Raven isn't an emo kid who can't solve her problems. No offense to any of you self-proclaimed emos out there. :o

**titanfan45:** Yup, yup. It's about 2-7 more chapters I do believe. I haven't really decided. /

**Akki Rei:** Yeah, that's me when I write it. It's kinda overwhelming after awhile, because I find myself having to fit it all in without making it heavy, confusion, or unrealistic.

**timkhj:** I'm glad you decided to pick it up and review. :D

_**Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots...**_ Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic _thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

**

* * *

**

**Explain This to Me**

**_December 9th 2007 4:37:33 am_**

**_My heart nearly stopped today…_**

**_--Figuratively speaking—_**

**_I never thought it would happen, or could happen, but it finally has happened._**

**_And for the record, I'm writing this down on napkins until I can transfer this to a computer—lest I forget the angst of the hospital._**

**_Like anyone can forget a hospital visit…_**

Beast Boy yawned widely before he felt a hand placed on his shoulder. His green eyes shifted their gaze upward into soft violet ones, "My turn." She murmured.

He yawned deeply again, rose to his feet, and leaned forward to whisper into her ear, "Make sure she gets some sleep too. She hasn't left his side yet."

Raven sighed deeply, allowing him to walk past her before she sat down next to their alien friend. Starfire's eyes watered as she stared almost unblinkingly at their dark-haired leader. Robin lay asleep on a medical cot. An IV was hooked up to his arm and his legs were in elevated casts. Raven placed a comforting hand on Starfire's arm. The orange-haired girl melted into a sea of sobs, "Oh Raven, how could this happen?"

The dark-haired girl shook her head while smoothing her friend's hair, "I don't know Starfire. I just don't know."

Her mind became cluttered with the memory of battle and the sound of sobs and turmoil ringing in her ears…

_The Titan's alarm had sounded sometime around early morning; around three. The teen heroes all bounded down the stairs at top speed all prepared for action. Leaping into an impossible battle, they all challenged the odds; the odds of success, of victory, of fame. _

_But Robin didn't care, he faced those odds bravely, or foolishly; it was all a matter of opinion really._

"_Robin, no!!" Starfire cried out as the dark-haired boy leapt at his foe._

_It took only a second._

_She saw it coming._

_All of the Titans could see it coming—all of them but their fearless leader. _

_And in that frail second…_

_A bone-shattering snap was heard._

_Starfire wailed loudly. Robin cried out in agony. The monster wheeled backward and roared in triumph. Rage consumed the three other Titans. They all leapt into battle again as Robin floundered to the ground. Although the others were finally able to subdue the crocodile-like creature, Starfire remained unmoved._

_Her emerald eyes shone with a myriad of confusion and shock. Robin writhed on the ground a few moments trying to will his legs to move; there was only one problem, they were both thoroughly broken, "Starfire…" he groaned reaching a hand out a mere heartbeat before it flopped limply to his side._

_The orange-haired girl felt her heart commanding her reach out to him—to let him rest in her arms like he had so many times before, but permafrost of astonishment cased the young alien. She could feel his gaze burning into her as though questioning the lack of concern she seemed to be exhibiting. His pain was clearly reflected in her eyes, and she turned away._

_The others were at his side in heartbeats once they were certain the monster wouldn't attack again. Raven kneeled at her leader's side. She narrowed her eyes, blue energy cased her hands as she smoothed her fingertips across his legs, but a sudden spike of blue energy sent the Titans reeling backwards._

_After a shaky fight with the internal conflicts she had boiling within her, Starfire approached again. Calmly, she bent downward, and lifted Robin into her arms, "I believe an Earth hospital is closest?" Robin was surprisingly quiet and felt himself slip into a shallow sleep._

_Cyborg nodded and began to follow Starfire into the city. Beast Boy, however, noticed that Raven was frozen in place with her face a wash of emotions. Raven stared down at her hands with an agonizing feeling of perfidy and upset; what had happened? What had caused her powers to short out like that? Questions swirled around her present sense of failure._

**_She had the most upset expression. It was an expression I hadn't seen her wear since the Prophecy was coming true. She stared up at me with the most forlorn eyes almost paralyzing me into submission…I wanted to carry her into the city like Starfire had did her Robin…I think I'll start calling her 'My Raven' even though she's the only Raven I know._**

**_Not only did Robin fall in this plight, but she did as well. For some reason her powers faltered—she couldn't heal Robin like she had before. So I took her hand and held her close like I had the night of the Ball and led her after our comrades._**

"So have you talked to her yet?" Cyborg asked Beast Boy as he sat next to him.

"You realize the question you just asked me is ridiculously vague." He replied raising a brow.

"About Raven's power short circuit."

"Not exactly. She's a closed book remember?"

"Ya'll have just seemed really close lately. That's all."

"You're imagining things." He retorted hotly.

Cyborg folded his arms smugly. He knew the little changeling wouldn't admit to anything even after all these years. Raven and Beast Boy would always be alike in that sense; stubborn. Despite the fact that everyone knew it was completely obvious they had some sort of romantic entanglement.

"That reminds me," Beast Boy piped up, glancing towards his friend, "I wanted to ask you something. Things have been kind of crazy lately—but you know how I have a journal? Someone's been reading it. And I need to find out who. You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

Cyborg looked away from his friend, "How should I know?" his voice sounded almost apathetic, but he appeared somewhat distraught at such a question. He looked nervous even, "It could be anyone."

The green-eyed boy felt a twinge of upset—he could tell that Cyborg wasn't telling him everything he knew, "Well, if you hear anything, I'd really like to know, because I kinda lied to Robin about something."

"Oh yeah, about Star eh?"

"Yeah, I told him I didn't know anything when we clearly do." He sighed, folding his arms as he leaned against the wall, "This is getting too complicated."

**--**

Raven fidgeted uncomfortably in her cushioned seat; it was hard being near Starfire considering their current situation. Robin was in a deep sleep tucked underneath the comfy white covers. The taller girl snuffled again, and wiped some more tears from her water-stained face. The dark-haired girl was ready to delve back into her current dilemma, but the girl beside her finally broke the somber silence, "I didn't plan it like this. I didn't mean for us to do the arguing." Her gaze completely locked on the reason for her internal pain.

"What are you talking about?" she breathed slowly.

Starfire locked her green gaze with the girl beside her, "I'm sorry." Her words trembled with every feeling of defeat a person can have. And her words soon began to tell Raven the whole story-- all of the pieces falling into place…

_Starfire walked leisurely down the hallway while thinking about how tumultuous the meeting had been. The orange-haired girl had almost returned to her room when a voice beckoned her, "Yes?" she turned around to see Speedy approaching her._

_He gave her a lopsided grin as he sauntered up to her, "Heya Star, you and Bird Boy got any plans today?" he leaned against the wall only a breath in front of her._

"_Actually, we do." She smiled. _

_She hadn't really been paying close enough attention to realize that the auburn-haired boy might have other reasons besides friendship for asking her of her plans. She was about to bid him adieu and leave the awkward silence behind, but he'd already locked his lips with hers._

_She gave him a push, "What are you doing?" she gave him a mistrustful look. _

"_Robin doesn't deserve you, and sooner or later you'll realize that."_

"_You do not know what you are talking about." She glared, "He is the protective of me."_

"_Some English, girlie." He snidely remarked, "You might want to work on it if you expect to impress him."_

"_Robin has never said anything about that…" she trailed off, suddenly interested in what her fellow teammate was going to say._

"_That's not what he says to everyone else. He says your English is terrible." He gave her a crooked smile as he lied shamelessly._

_Hurt washed over her features, "He has?" her voice went up an octave._

_He titled her chin upward, "I can look past it…"_

"_That's not what you said a moment ago." Her brows furrowed, and before he could finish his sentence she slammed the door to her room in his face._

Starfire paused, "That was how it started—I did not like him that way, but when he told me those things, I began to doubt." She sighed, "And then Robin asked me to marry me, so that's when…" her voice cracked.

"That's when you turned to cheating." Raven filled in, casting her a sympathetic glance.

"He convinced me it was not cheating—he said that he wanted to help me learn how to kiss better…but I knew better. I should not have. But I felt lost…" her voice a cracked whisper.

Narrowing her eyes, Raven replied, "Speedy doesn't seem like the manipulative type—"

"It's the truth." She sobbed, afraid that her friend did not believe her, "I believe I had the cold feet. And he continued to tell me that Robin did not really care, because Friend Beast Boy had told him so."

The dark-haired girl gave the girl another confused look, _That's not what he's been telling me…Robin cares about her—it's obvious. _She took a deep breath, "So Beast Boy told Speedy that Robin didn't care anymore? Why would he want to marry you then?"

Starfire sobbed in reply. Something was out of place in the story, some piece was missing in the mystery—it wasn't that she didn't believe Starfire (even if she was still cautious in doing so) she just couldn't figure out why Speedy would pin that information on Beast Boy, "He adores you to say the least." Raven continued, "What—"

"Friend Beast Boy has a journal," Starfire cut in, "And Speedy told me that he has read it. And that is what it says. Beast Boy has no reason to do the lying."

_That's the missing piece!_Raven's mind instantly realized, "Starfire, that's it. He used Beast Boy to cover his story. Don't you see? He knows Robin cares, so he used your 'brother' to convince you otherwise."

The emerald-eyed girl blinked tears out of her blurry vision, "So he does…"

"Starfire, if you can't see a boy who's been in love with you since day one-- then I don't know what to say." She stood up, "You should tell him everything. It's better than him finding out second-hand."

"I will." She murmured in reply.

Cyborg then took his turn looking after Starfire and their leader. Raven walked timidly up to Beast Boy. She was still wary of her powers, shaken because of what Starfire had just admitted to, and most of all she felt nervous around Beast Boy. Ever since the way he was acting at the Ball, and the way he'd kissed her, she'd been avoiding talking to him about what terms their relationship was on now. But the circumstances kept pushing them together, forcing her to decide to talk or remain silent, "Raven, you wanna go see if the vending machines have anything good?"

"Sure. I guess." She held her arm.

"What do you mean you guess? C'mon." and with that he took her hand and pulled her down the hallway. The pair stood before the vending machines for about five minutes while he tried to make up his mind, before he finally decided that there wasn't anything priced 'appropriately', as he put it.

His attention was squandered again as he noticed the wide window at the end of the hallway, "Let's go look!"

Raven found herself pulled along with him again. But inside she was smiling; sometimes he was the best thing for a sad situation. After all, this was how he always dealt with these kinds of things—he played, joked, and laughed his way through it. He leaned on the window sill, "Look, Rae, just in time for sunrise."

She walked to his side and stared out the window with him as the golden rays of sunlight poured through the window. Just when she was beginning to relax, she felt his gaze on her again. Emotion rippled through her, she hated the million feelings he made her feel when he looked at her that way.

He seemed distracted as he asked her, "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Please, don't…" she breathed, finding him leaning in closer to her.

She felt an arm wrap around her waist, and his other hand brush back her stay locks, "Don't play with me—I know that you have some sort of feelings for me…"

She bit her lip, but he let go of her. She felt how reluctant he was to let go of her.

"Obviously." He remarked irately, returning to leaning on the window sill.

But she didn't want to deal with those complicated feelings at that moment, "Do you want to hear what I know?"

"I don't know-- you know a lot of things." He seemed distant, even cold to her.

Raven put a few step between them, "Starfire spilled to me about her and Speedy."

"Really?" a slight interest was awoken in him, "What she'd say?"

Raven paused, breathing deeply, "Starfire told me that the two of them have been hooking up for about two weeks now."

Beast Boy's expression faltered, "What?! That's a long time."

"Shush." She glared at him, "We're in a hospital you know. And yeah, it started right after our last meeting. She said she feels terrible for it. And she says she'll confess it all to Robin when he's better. And that she doesn't want to do it anymore."

He was quiet for a long time; just staring out the window.

"Is that what you're afraid of?" he finally asked.

"What?"

"That I'll cheat on you or something? That you won't mean anything to me?"

"No. How can you be so sure I even like you that way?" her eyes fiery as she spoke, "You keep assuming and telling me that I feel this way or that way—but you don't have a clue." She felt his lips press onto hers, but she pushed him away.

Beast Boy grumbled and glared at her, "I don't understand you Raven! What about when we went dress shopping-- what was that all about then? And the kiss after the Ball? I mean you so could've told me 'No' or 'Go away'—but no. You haven't said anything like that about any of the kisses I've been giving you. And that is quite a lot my dear Turtledove." His normally affectionate name of 'Turtledove' now was stained with distaste, he stalked away a few strides, but then he turned on his heel, "You need to make up your mind and quit playing with my heartstrings. We've practically been acting like we're together. So quit being difficult and just accept those feelings you have for me."

"How would you know?" she tried to play it cool, but she knew what he was talking about, and soon found that out of alarm, she'd backed herself against a wall.

"Instinct." He bit out, his face a breadth from hers. With a half-lidded gaze, he looked at her with more uncertainty than he'd ever had.

"You and your instinct…" she murmured feeling a heat rise between them again.

He pressed his lips to hers in a heated fashion; never minding the fragment of protest that rose from her, because in an instant, it melted away. She threaded her fingers into his hair. Feeling his forehead resting against hers, she came back to the waking world, "Please Raven, tell me what your thinking. Let me know what you're feeling."

She felt butterflies jumping up and down on her tired heart. She felt her pulse racing, and another spontaneous burst of courage grabbed her—or rather she grabbed him and pulled his lips to hers once more. His heart was doing somersaults. Finally all of their true feelings would be released. He gently took her into his arms and lavished kisses upon her. She admitted a soft sigh as his hand caressed her face.

Her fingers entwined into his hair, her voice a pin-drop whisper, "Is this how it's supposed to feel?"

"Like what?" he pressed his lips against her bare neck then. A flick of his tongue caused her breath to hitch and words became more difficult for her, "Free…that's what I feel like…"

Her hands took each of his ears and rubbed them gently, "That's exactly how you're supposed to feel…" he purred, relishing the sensations of her delicate fingers on his ears.

She leaned back against the wall as he pressed his hips firmly against hers, "Raven…" he murmured, kissing her deeply again.

"What, no 'Rae'?" she teased, lolling her tongue at him.

He was about to bury his face in her neck and breathe in her delicious scent once more, when he heard, "B.B! Rae!"

Cyborg barreled around the corner and stared blankly at the sight before him; two lovers completely entwined with one another. Raven was completely flush red, and Beast Boy looked out of breath.

The Cyborg tried to ignore what he'd accidentally barged in on, but his difficulty showed, "Um, I—Robin, he's awakish now. Just wanted to tell you—bye!" and with that he disappeared again. Beast Boy raised a brow and looked at Raven again, "You'd think he'd never seen people kissing before."

Raven just smiled, and now they knew that her special smile would hold another meaning to them, "Awakish?" she reiterated, "That reminds me. I wanted to go back to the Tower and read about Biomorphicism again. Will you take me?"

"You remember now?" bafflement adorning his face, "After we see Robin."

--

Once they had returned to the Tower, Raven realized her mistake instantly; turning another page in the book while Beast Boy sat bored at the end of her bed. Flipping the book around to show him, "It says you have to learn both parts of the power or else it'll short out your own magic type."

"Why does it have to be so complicated?" he retorted, staring at the ceiling with mild interest, "Maybe there's a reason that that magic type hasn't been used in centuries."

"I've already started learning it. If I learn the rest of it, then I'll be back to normal again. And I can heal Robin." She replied dismally—disappointed that she would have to learn the rest of type of magic that was so terrible that it shouldn't even exist.

"Well, be careful I guess." He yawned, and then laid the book over his face, "I know I can't stop you. Just don't use anymore starfish, or other animals for that matter."

"Thank you, Captain Planet." She pulled the book from him, "I think I know that already. But I don't know what to practice on, to know if I've learned it."

He shrugged, "Ready to get back yet?"

"You can go back if you want to. I'll figure this out, and then come." She replied almost automatically.

**_Okay, so a few more mysteries solved. But I know it seems kinda late, but I've just realized that most of these attacks on our city have been by animals—mutated animals-- with voices like those in my dream, of no specific animal but a mix of many put together._**

**_Great, more to think about-- as if I don't have enough problems…_**

**_-B.B._**

* * *

Alrighty then, more action, adventure, and humor up next. So stay tuned my faithful readers!


	14. December 10th

Okay ya'll another exciting installment of **DAYS OF OUR LIVES**...Sorry, wrong media-base. And thank you for all the increased encouragement, sometimes I just a lingering doubts you know? I really enjoy writing this story and I would absoulutely hate to disappoint any of you. :P Anyway, enjoy.

Also I should note that-- it's not mentioned-- but Robin is in the _regular _part of the hospital, not the Emergancy wing.

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

acosta perez jose ramiro:Yessiree, they'll probably string'em up. :o

Agent of the Divine One: Perhaps, but there is another.

Mr. Average: Thanks, and we'll have to see, Robin has been pretty flippant lately.

CLAREsaysHI:Thanks, and of course I have to make some steamy-ness. They have great chemistry if you ask me. :d

Raven'sWinterRaine:Yays!! That's my favorite kind of fluff too; humorous and heated.

BBRaefan:Haha, Speedy will probably get more than a 'royal smackdown'. And as usual, your reviews make me think too much. Lol.

titanfan45:Lol. Your review made me laugh so hard. Just the fact that you called Speedy 'a low-life scumbag' was enough.

Akki Rei:Everything will become clear in time, Grasshopper. ;D And I used to watch Captain Planet like all the time so I had to add it in. Lol.

Jocelyn Torrent: Yay for creativity! I try not to read anything Teen Titan related so that I can keep my idas isolated and original. Sometimes, unfortunately, a few cliche elements sneak into my story. But I am glad I pulled you away from a horrible movie-- they're all pretty terrible anymore. :'((

Alman626: Why thank you, I aim for fantastic-ness. :D

too many stars to count: Your Welcome, Frequent Distraction is one of my strong suits. ;p

Ikasury: Thank you for adding yet another funky slang term to my repertoire-- kinky-fluff. xO Lol.

Morgan the Faerie Queen: Thanks, and yes it used to come on at six in the good old days.

_**Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots...**_ Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic _thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

* * *

**Explain This to Me**

**_December 10th 2007 10:55:17 pm_**

**_So hospital visits suck, but getting to play late night games with Raven is fun._**

**_So much fun..._**

Beast Boy skirted around a corner, and dive-rolled across the open hallway. It was surprisingly quiet considering it was a hospital. _Too quiet…_he mused glancing around the corner. He felt his senses tingling with anticipation at the thought of-- "Yipe!" Raven wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"Tag—you're it." She laughed, disappearing beneath the floor again.

_**Cripes. I thought she wouldn't be any good at this, but it does seem that secrecy is her forte after all….grumble…Stupid Word-A-Day calendars…**_

The green-skinned Titan cleverly morphed into a spider and crept up the wall. He cruised the mantle at the ceiling's edge as quickly as he could. Chugging along he noticed the dark-haired girl re-appearing down an adjacent hallway from the one he'd been tagged. The green spider lay in wait as his target approached.

Raven glanced around the hallways, taking a riskier approach than her usual 'appear and disappear' strategy. After all, it wouldn't be any fun if she caught him in two minutes but it took him two hours to find her. She was about to turn the corner when he leapt down in front of her, "Ahhh!" she squeaked, dashing away from him.

Beast Boy gave chase; following her closely, and skidding around corners, until he'd finally cornered her again. She backed against the wall, and just when he was about to tag her, she melted into the wall, "Dammit Raven!"

He heard her laughter in one of the nearby hallways, _I gotcha now…_ he assured himself. He pounced around the corner and wrapped his arms around the first thing he could, "Caught'cha, Raven." He looked up and realized that he'd accidentally grabbed an angry looking nurse.

"Sorry," he muttered dashing away, all the while hearing Raven's elated laughter in the distance, "Laugh while you can!" he exclaimed, morphing into a moth.

He flapped furiously, looking for her petite form, and finally he'd caught up to her again. She was cautiously glancing around corners and tip-toeing across the open hallways. The green moth flapped forward until he had the perfect angle, "Surprise!" he cheered, cornering her against the wall, and kissing her, "Tag. You're it."

Raven looked at him with a feigned shocked expression, up until that point the two had only been hugging each other as a 'tag', but now, "Beast Boy, I don't believe I've ever played Kissing Tag before."

"That's because you haven't had any cool boyfriends before now."

"Oh, so now you're my boyfriend?" she quirked a brow.

"I can be if you want me to be." He replied dreamily, resting his forehead against hers.

"Hmm, let me think about it." She replied leaving him a kiss on his cheek before disappearing again.

"Damn, she gets me every time." He grumbled, seeing as she was two steps ahead of him again.

**_If you've decided to read my OWN PERSONAL JOURNAL, then congratulations super spy, here's your gold medal. And now if you're asking yourself, 'How in Heaven's name did Beast Boy get Raven to play Tag in the first place?' It's a long story…Basically I'M AWESOME LIKE THAT and I can convince her ANYTHING is fun. So there…QUIT READING._**

Beast Boy snuck around a corner, and found himself stalking Raven completely unawares. A few more steps and he would've had it, but instead he tripped and knocked her down with him. She landed stomach first and he landed quite suggestively over her, "Ow, my spleen…" he muttered, making no effort to move.

"You're heavy now get off." She retorted trying to push his off, but ended up putting them into an even more compromising position of missionary.

Beast Boy lifted his weight off of her, "Sorry, I—"

"Could ya'll please get a room." Cyborg groaned walking toward the pair.

Raven gave him another harsh shove, "You oaf."

"Love you too, Turtledove." He remarked, pushing himself off the ground. He offered her a hand up and pulled her directly into his embrace. She distanced herself away from him a moment afterward however, brushing herself off, "So what's up Cy?" Beast Boy asked, tilting his head sideways.

"Cat person." Cyborg laughed, "I wanted to see what you two were doing seeing as Robin is feeling better and doesn't need us cluttering up his space."

"I am not a cat person. I'm an animal person. Get it right." He stuck his tongue out.

Raven rolled her eyes, "How can you be so immeasurably wise and nostalgic one minute and then a childish, arguing brat the next?"

"It's the beauty of my personality." He replied simply, blinking cutely at her.

"Ya'll were playing a game or something before weren't ya?" Cyborg interjected, "I want to play too, but no Kissing Tag for me."

"You were watching!?" Beast Boy cried.

Cyborg just grinned, "It was a guess, but now I know for sure."

Beast Boy folded his arms and stuck out his tongue.

"Alright," Raven said, "but you'll be at a disadvantage just so you know. We'll just do regular tagging okay?"

"Sounds good." Cyborg replied with elation. He then took off down one hallway, leaving his teammates behind.

Beast Boy turned to Raven, and for once a silence cased them. He leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "You can still kiss me, but only if you really, really want to…"

"Then I may never kiss you again." She replied with a flirty tone, as he stole a kiss from her anyway.

"Tag. You're it." He laughed dashing down the hallway opposite from Cyborg.

Raven grumbled to herself, but disappeared into the floor a moment later. Reappearing, she found herself standing in front of a large landscape style window much like the one back home. Pausing, she stared out the clear glass and into the murky grey skies, _It looks ready to pour…_ she mused, finding herself suddenly distracted from the game she had been entangled in. The sky rumbled loudly, and the crackle of white heat it spawned became a sparkling rain of silver in the distance, _There's something very unsettling about all of this…_

A loud yelp shook her from her contemplative stupor. Dashing around the corner, she found that Beast Boy and Cyborg had yet again, managed to be a nuisance to the nurses. She glared pointedly at the two, "In hindsight, playing games like 'Tag' in a Hospital isn't such a wonderful idea." She tapped her foot impatiently while the two disentangled themselves from the white sheets of the cot they had accidently run into.

Sheepishly, the two boys approached her. The nurse took the cot in the opposite direction grumbling something about 'Heroes indeed'. The dark-haired heroine frowned, "Let's go outside then."

"It's about to rain Rae." Cyborg informed, glancing out the window that framed the bleak skyline.

"This was your idea remember." She reminded them gently, "Let's check on Robin then. I think I might be able to speed up his healing process."

The boys shrugged and followed their teammate diligently. Once they entered the room, the calm that inhabited the rest of the hospital was soon lost. Robin was sitting mostly upright in his bed staring out the window with an unreadable expression. Starfire stared at the ground as silent sobs dripped from her swollen red eyes; 'she had been crying a lot' would probably be an understatement. The other three seemed unable to bring themselves to speak the words they longed to speak-- the words that were very much needed at that moment in time.

Purposely avoiding asking what the two had been talking about-- she already knew it was about Starfire's confession-- Raven approached the bedside like a ghost; soundlessly. Raising one of her delicate hands, a crackle of blue sparks jumped around her hand-- waiting to be unleashed. In a swift moment, that only grazed the length of a heartbeat, she swept her hand over the length of his legs. An idle discharge of static electricity bounced downward, fumbling down the bedside in a curiously calm torrent of sapphire. An eerie blue glow filled the room for only a moment blocking out the lights of the room with its own ghostly glow before disappearing completely.

All of the Titans, save for Beast Boy, were baffled. Robin finally tore his gaze from the dark skyline to stare at his mystically inclined teammate, "What was that?"

A flicker of blue reflected in her eyes, "That was Biomophicism. Do your legs feel better now?"

"That's what that sorceress was using. Why would you use it? And why did it look so different?" he sounded more distressed than angry with Raven.

"Try out your legs Robin." She replied sternly, an anticipatory glow in her eager gaze.

The dark-haired boy looked ready to protest, but knew that there was no arguing with Raven-- at least not when it came to healing. He pushed off of the back of the bed an inch, and then flopped backward; he was trying to reach the binding that was holding his legs upward, "Wait." Cyborg's voice cut in, "Raven, we should probably wait until the doctor comes back. I don't doubt your power—" he raised his hands defensively, "I'm just saying it would be better to wait until the _professionals _check it out."

The dark-haired girl, despite her calm demeanor, whipped around to face him, "He'll be fine." She stalked out of the room with her cloak flapping angrily behind her.

"What's her problem?" Cyborg grumbled, glancing down at Beast Boy.

"She's still kinda sensitive about her healing abilities." He shrugged, and then glanced towards Starfire.

_**I was still angry with Starfire for playing with Robin the way she had, but when I looked at her sad face-- I knew instinctively that she hadn't meant to hurt him—somehow it was a misunderstanding—a big misunderstanding.**_

He moved to sit next to Starfire and placed a comforting hand on her back.

_**But even if it wasn't, I don't think I can stay mad at my Sis very much longer--**_

**_Robin can be hard to live with... :p_**

She gave Beast Boy a grateful, fleeting smile, "We would very much like to be alone." The orange-haired heroine spoke weakly.

He gave her a confused look, "Alright."

He and Cyborg left the somber room again, "Dude, I still don't know what's going on with them."

"Me either B." the half-metal Titan replied, "But at least they can spend time together now."

Before the green boy had a chance to reply, a loud beeping squealed from each of their communicator pieces. Cyborg looked down at his arm to see Raven's face staring back at him on the little screen, "We have trouble down here." And then the screen cut out. Quickly the two made their way down the hospital floors until they reached the road that split the hospital from the rest of the city. Nearby, Raven was already standing in a fighter stance staring upward at the stormy sky. A light drizzle began to tumble around them.

**_And then it was like my nightmare was coming to life before my very eyes-- a nightmare I have quite often now that I realize it--_**

"You've been meddling into my affairs for the last time." A wry voice spoke.

The Titan boys glanced around trying to pinpoint the voice's location, but Raven merely pointed forward towards the tall building that was standing stoically before them. Following her direction, the golden clad sorceress came into clear view. Slowly she materialized from afar. The boys looked toward their dark-haired teammate with questioning looks, and she replied as though she knew instinctively that they would have questions, "She was cloaking herself-- just like the lizard."

"Riona…" Cyborg bit out, preparing himself to fight.

_**Facing that witch again, will surely be my own undoing…**_

"About that," Riona began haughtily, "I kind of have a problem with you brats killing my pets. I warned you once about staying clear of me. And now you will pay."

_**And really, the fears that claw at my heart aren't exactly as black and white as I'd like them to be. They are always riddled with this terrible confusion-- this innate fear-- that maybe, somehow--**_

A strange swath of light was crackling nearby, and Beast Boy saw that Raven's hands had begun to glow a silver-gold color. She stood completely straight with her hands outstretched behind her allowing the energy to accumulate, "Don't be so sure of yourself; I've learned your trade." She replied evenly, but with a darkly venomous undertone that it caused even the sky itself to tremble; echoing the foreboding situation unfolding before them. The drizzle began to swell into a harder rain fall.

"Why isn't she using her own magic type?" Cyborg asked Beast Boy in a hushed whisper, maintaining his gaze on their foe.

"I don't know. To prove a point I guess."

The sound of thunder could be heard rumbling nearby, and the buildings seemed to shake. At first they were under the impression that it was the rain, thunder, and the wind rolling over the earth, but then a crowd of creatures came plowing through the two buildings near the one Riona was perched on, "Impressive. It normally takes much longer to show that power, but have you truly learned it?"

"Come here and I'll show you." Her voice had clouded with an undercurrent of anger and upset.

A flash of electricity cut across the sky startling the Titan boys, until they realized that it was Riona who'd shot herself straight at Raven in a single move. The yellow sorceress grappled each of Raven hands, trying to overpower her, but the equal distribution of electricity that swirled around them showed that they were evenly matched. More of the white heat cut open the clouds and a vicious downpour of water crashed onto the young heroes. The recoiling discharge from the blast sent the two Titans boy flailing backwards. With a shaky disposition, the two rose to their feet once more.

Cyborg glanced towards his friend, "You good?"

"Yeah, I'm good." He glared at the vile sorceress that opposed them.

"I'm going to try and call for back up."

_**I just can't stand here and wait for 'back up' to get here!**_

Beast Boy was about to leap into battle, but Cyborg held him back. Questioningly, he stared back at his friend, "You remember what happened last time. You wouldn't want to get blinded again, would you?" Defeat surrounded his form as watched with a sense of helplessness burying him.

_**I can feel it now.**_

_**This burning in my heart.**_

"Give up. You can't win." Raven commanded, glaring at her opponent with flickers of electricity dancing in her reflection.

"Don't lie to yourself." The golden-eyed woman bit out.

"I won't let you win!"

Riona and Raven pushed away harshly; ripples of electric discharge flowed around them as they crashed onto the opposite sides of the street. A pained breath escaped the younger girl as she fell to her knees. The rain slammed onto her back like the spines of sea urchins as she kneeled under the shadow of the buildings she'd sworn to protect. The weight of the forceful blow finally brought her to the waking world; she fell forward into a pool of water.

Her cloak became laden with the weight of the humid rainfall that made it more difficult for her to move; vainly, she tried to push herself from the painful blacktop once more. Her weight caved beneath her nimble fingertips, and she fell into the puddle for the second time. The wind howled overhead in a spectral-like wail seemingly warning the girl to give up while she still could.

**_I've felt this creature trying to claw its way to the surface before._**

**_No. I bite my lip, and wait for the feelings of rage to pass._**

**_Becoming the Best has to be my choice—not my anger's choice…_**

Riona huffed heavily a few times, but seemed unfazed by the electric torrent they were forming, "I warned you. And that time has passed-- so leave this place, before I make you leave this Earth." Her voice was devoid of emotion, and her yellow eyes glimmered like electricity itself in the foggy rain.

Finally unable to stand sitting on the sidelines any longer, Beast Boy dashed towards their fallen comrade, "No, wait!" Cyborg's voice was already a memory to his determined mind as he raced valiantly forward. Cyborg wasn't a coward, but he knew that the three of them were simply not enough. As the green boy ran forward, the mutated animals she had summoned advanced to block his path to her.

A growl formed his voice, "Back off…"

The dark sky now seemed even darker as the lightning died down again. It was as though the sun had fallen from the sky, and it did not intend to return. His heart skipped a beat within him, and the form of a gorilla reappeared among the animals. He swung at the animals that opposed him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Riona slowly walking towards his dark-haired beauty. Struggling against the forces of nature that were overwhelming him, he finally broke through some of the animals.

The golden clad witch was only a ruler's length from Raven-- he wouldn't be quick enough! A terrible shot of blue severed through the heavy rainfall and knocked Riona a considerable distance from her adversary. The green-eyed boy looked over his shoulder to see that Cyborg had fired the shot. He darted towards Beast Boy, but the animals were already beginning to enclose them once more. Back to back, the two Titans boys calculated their next move.

"Star's going to be here any second, and no word from the others. I couldn't reach them." Cyborg informed with a grim distaste.

"We have to get to Raven somehow--"

Peripheral vision granted the two the knowledge that Raven had regained composure. A wave of raw power flowed around the area, and the framework of the buildings began to crumble as the two sorceresses combated with their deadly power. Sparks of energy flew everywhere temporarily setting the sky ablaze with a horrifying fire that bleached the rain in a perception of silver. And then the heated rain ran cold-- glacier cold. The buildings crumbled to the ground under the weight of the electric discharge, and heavy rain. There was nothing left but mounds of half-ruined obstructions.

"Back up and moving already? I think you should take a rest—you don't look so well." Riona challenged, shoving herself from the broken pavement and into battle again.

"I could say the same of you." She replied evenly, idly brushing off some of the crumbling debris from her shoulders.

"I think Raven will be fine on her own." The mechanical boy assured.

He nodded, "I have an idea. Cover your ears or something." The shorter boy replied.

The new waves of electric power had fleetingly blinded and stunned the animals into a stupor. But now they looked ready to make a new Hell on Earth staring with empty eyes at their opponents. Beast Boy morphed into a wolf, and let out a howl but halfway through turned into a bob cat and let out an ear shattering yowl. The sound seemed to affect some of the animals, but the rest were unfazed. He morphed into a human, "Okay, that accomplished nothing."

Cyborg began beating back some of the animals, "What were you trying to do?"

Beast Boy forced some of the smaller animals back and avoided the larger animals' swipes, "I thought maybe if I could imitate the sounds they were making in my dream then maybe they would stop. But I guess that was dumb."

"I don't think it would matter if you could speak their language anyway," he blasted his sonic cannon at a few of the ones closer to him sending them flying; "They're Riona's pets after all."

A schism of green ran through the rain along the blacktop burning the paws of the creatures surrounding the heroes as they fought. An orange-haired alien zipped towards them, "Just in time." Cyborg greeted, wincing as one of the animals gripped tightly onto his mechanical arm.

Riona began to form blades of electricity from her arms, and threw them violently towards the dark-haired heroine. The younger girl dodged a few smoothly, before trying to summon the same power for herself. A sputter of blue and yellow awkwardly mangled around her fingertips like earthworms. A heavy laugh came from the older sorceress, "You can't manage it yet can you? It inhabits many forms, but only to those who pledge themselves to it."

Clenching her fists the purple-eyed girl retorted vituperatively, "I'll never be a slave to my own power." A effervesce of dark energy leapt from the pavement and wrapped tightly around the yellow clad villainess. A look of shock passed over the sorceress features a mere second, before she struggled against Raven's inborn powers, "It's funny that you've been watching us all this time, and yet so naïve of all of our true powers."

"What's she talking about Cy?" the green boy asked before changing into a tiger and wrestling with another of the animals.

"No idea." He bit out trying to fend off the smaller creatures as they bit at his feet, and the larger animals at the same time. Finally one of them pushed him backward. Starfire blasted the creatures that were overwhelming Cyborg with her starbolts.

Riona broke free of Raven's hold, and scoffed at her accusations, "Just because I happened to witness some of your fights with my pets, doesn't mean I know _everything_." She slowly re-approached the girl, "No one likes a know-it-all, Raven."

Confusion stole her fighting reflex away, "How do you know my name?" The sorceress gave no answer, and began throwing punches and kicks again. A rumble of thunder cried in the distance once more.

"Nothing affects them!" the orange-haired girl cried in dismay while tossing some of the animals towards where they had once walked from.

"Something has to work." Cyborg protested, kicking an overzealous raccoon backwards. It tumbled over its tail and into a spark of discharged electricity. In a bright flash, it melted away into a puff of smoke, "That's it!" he exclaimed to the others, "They melt in the electricity!"

The other two nodded, trying to fend off the remaining creatures and look for opportunities to toss them into the torrent of static recoil emanating from the two sorceresses. But after a few stray tosses, the animals began to wise to their ruse. Dodging and becoming more strategic in their movements.

_**Instinct has always something I've boasted about, but today, it really saved my life…**_

A sudden offshoot of wild energy ricocheted off the nearby building and slammed into the herd of animals. The ripples of aftershock knocked over anything remaining standing-- including Cyborg and Starfire.

_**By some grace of fate, I knew that was going to happen. But it happened quicker than I could say, and now, I'm the only one left standing-- besides Raven-- but that's a different story.**_

Glancing around at the animals, he saw their electrocuted forms wafting away into the blinding rain. He ran to kneel beside Cyborg, "Cy? Are you okay?" he didn't stir, and fear grabbed him, "Starfire?" he felt her wrist for a pulse, and realized that the two were in some state of shock.

_**How did I avoid the electricity? I'm still not entirely sure. I could hear it coming, and after it had past I had realized that I was in the shelter of the nearby building.**_

_**I've never reacted that quickly to anything in my life.**_

_**I just wish I could've warned them. What do I do now?**_

He turned his gaze towards the clashing sorceresses. A cataclysmic blast of sheer force broke the two apart once more. The dark-haired girl slammed into the pavement, breaking it into a million pieces. Riona slammed into the nearby building causing the rest of it to cave under its own weight. All he could hear was the blood rushing to his ears, as a rush of panic filled his mind. Crackles of electricity danced a mad dance around the fallen girl's form as she lay lifelessly in the pouring rain.

Racing towards her-- seeing as it was the only course of action that seemed logical at the moment. He was quickly repelled by a shard of Raven's own rampant energy. The sound of shuffling penetrated his sensitive hearing as he pushed his weight from the pavement. A few blocks of concrete hit the sidewalk as Riona pushed herself from the wreckage, "What are you…" he questioned, more to himself than to her.

Undaunted, she approached him with a cold flame in her eyes; "I'm surprised to see you alive, green one." He moved to place himself protectively between her and her prey, "Don't be foolish. You won't survive another one of my direct attacks."

"You have to get through me first." He growled, with a low rumble in his voice that sounded like thunder on a whip of shore side windfall.

With one hand she pushed him aside, "Don't worry, I'll get you next. But this wench is going first." Raven remained motionless as the sorceress lifted her upward and tightened her hand around Raven's neck.

**_It was like one of those moments in the movies where you can actually see yourself moving in slow motion-- Raven warned me about Riona's power over-taking her own type—about how it would kill her…_**

He leapt forward-- never caring for the consequences-- as he slammed head-first into her arm breaking the direct contact from Raven's neck to his own as the electricity flowed through her fingertips and into his body. And in his upset effort to save her, he'd yanked Raven's hand, but the charge then flowed through her as well. In a heartbeat the two had flopped limply and flat onto the slick pavement. Riona stared heartlessly down at the two, "Warnings are no use to the stubborn." She sneered, stepping over them and disappearing into the dark, night rain.

_**Strangely enough, the paralysis of my first encounter didn't happen. I don't know if fate has intervened again or what, but I can move. With a sore difficulty.**_

_**But that damn witch took my sight again!**_

Beast Boy reached blindly for Raven's form, as he crawled across the slick pavement. His fingertips slipped and brought his heavy form downward once more; the rain crashing onto his head as though mocking his incompetence. He felt soreness in his body as he finally found her lying next to him. He tried to morph, but his body refused to take another shape. He futilely tried again and again, but it wouldn't work.

Finally, he slowly stood, testing his own steady footing before pulling her up into his arms. He tottered a moment, before steadying himself. Pausing a moment, he attempted to take in the scents and sounds around him. A plethora of information overwhelmed his senses making him almost dizzy as the heavy rain mixed and melded any familiarity away from him. He couldn't sense any direction what so ever. He tried to think of what way he had been facing-- which way was the hospital?

His mind raced with a painful sense of failure. The green-eyed boy slowly walked towards the building that Riona had fallen into. It was the only thing close enough for his senses to vaguely detect and the last thing that he could remember seeing. At last his fingertips touched brick, working his way along the edge of the building he kept walking until he felt an opening. He took a small whiff and realized that it was a wide open building filled with wreckage, _I have to find someone. Anyone-- we need help._

_**Who was I kidding? The only one who could help any of us was in my arms…**_

Cautiously, he picked his way over the few boards and debris he could feel by sticking his leg a few spaces ahead of him. Lowering himself to the ground he rested his back to the wall, and rested her form in his lap, _I think I'll just rest a minute…_he felt an unfamiliar drowsiness overtaking him.

"Bea…st Boy?" her voice cracked, as she blinked her clear eyes up at his clouded ones.

"We're safe. Just rest." He yawned, drifting into an unsettled sleep once more.

_We're clearly not!_ Raven's mind barked, as her body unwillingly disappeared into a void.

**_I guess if this is the way we're going to go-- at least-- at least--_**

**_It won't be too painful…_**

**_I hope…_**

**_-B.B._**

* * *

Dun, dun, dun. Next chapter up soon. Also I must mention that the electricity should have probably caused more damage, and truthfully I don't think the other Titans should've been able to fight so close to Riona and Raven anyway. But for my story, they used centralized electric powers that only had occasionally rampart energy that could cause significant damage.


	15. December 11th

Hello everyone, I meant to post this before I went away last week. But oh well here it is. Enjoy. :)

I should mention that although Beast Boy is typing his journal on the computer, they are his it would be to include BB's thoughts in those moments-- so I'm kinda using the journal as a base for BB's thoughts specifically, I'll probably bounce back and forth depending on what looks better. So please bear with me. :)

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

acosta perez jose ramiro: Thanks. As usual your reviews encourage me onward. :)

Agent of the Divine One: Yes it will, and I hope what I've worked out will be sufficient.

Mr. Average:Yeah, I tried to give some atypical fighting dialogue. And it was much harder than anticipated, so thus the somewhat awkward banter. :o

CLAREsaysHI: Thanks, I was in one of my descriptive moods again.

Raven'sWinterRaine: Thanks.

BBRaefan: Hehe, much more up ahead.

titanfan45: Well, I don't think I've officially heard any couples come out and say that's what they were playing, but I figured that 'Kissing Tag' would be an appropriate title for it. :) And besides, who doesn't like playing games with their signifigant other?

Akki Rei: Character development is my forte. :D So thankies.

too many stars to count: Thanks, read forward to have most of your questions answered. ;D

Ikasury: I know, it's sad when the fluff disappears, but really it's more realistic if you ask me. And you have a point, for the stories sake, you can't lull on little happy moments or else you'll never get to the really good long happy moments. ;DD

LillyOpal: Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! Lol. Really, glad you like it. :3

Zenia W.: Thanks. Sometimes interest must lull. ;)

Raven of Alaska: I know, it's just gone from bad to worse in a few hours.

_**Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots...**_ Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic _thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

* * *

**Explain This to Me**

_**December 11th 2007 8:24:09 am**_

_**Rain falls all around me. Pit. Pat. Thunder rolls across the town like a stampede.**_

_**Sounds like the intro to an intense novel doesn't it? How I wish it were…**_

Beast Boy held Raven in his arms, _I can't believe that no one is answering…_he brushed back some of her wet locks of hair. Raindrops dripped from the roof of the abandoned warehouse. The warehouse was alive with noise. His other senses had sharpened considerably since his second bout of blindness. An edgy discomfort pricked at him in a way he'd never felt before; helplessness blooming from his inability to see, his nose was flooded with a multitude of scents, and the rain wasn't helping—it only mixed and blended all of the smells into one indiscernible mess.

The sense that was crying out the most, however, was the urgency he felt. Raven was unconscious for the most part. She'd only be awake long enough to breath his name. Now she was freezing, soaked to the bone and all he could do was hold her close. He could hear his own heartbeat amidst the crash of the storm; the sound of his heartbeat slowly drowning out her own, the feeling of his own uniform clinging to his form uncomfortably, the arbitrary whiffs of burning wood-- it was liking feeling everything at once, and sensing a thousand different things in an inharmonious union.

His fingertips clasped her wrist; sensations of a pulse dwindling and slowing met his sensitive fingertips. He whipped out his communicator again, "Beast Boy calling Titans. Come in." his ears met static.

They were on their own.

Stranded.

_**Fear of a teammate's death has never really been something us Titans have worried about. But in that moment, all I could think about was how I was going to lose her because of my foolishness…**_

The rain continued washing and mixing any familiarity of smell away. He had no clue which way was home, and he couldn't morph due to exhaustion, or the pain of the magic's effects; but the cause really didn't matter to him in that moment.

**_Maybe if I hadn't tried to interfere, I could track down a cure._**

Even if he could smell, or be an animal that didn't need sight, it would be useless because he wouldn't be able to take her with him.

_**Force that witch to heal her.**_

A riptide of wind scored over the remaining rooftop pieces. A few parts of the rooftop weakened and crashed on the opposing side of the wall in which they were sitting.

_**Or maybe I gave her a fighting chance after all.**_

A sickening feeling of failure mingled with a crackle of electricity in the distance, _Damn this blindness!_ His mind barked, "Raven you have to wake up!"

**_It was one of those times were you wish you could know that you were making the right decision before you actually had to make it-- because if anything happens to any of my teammates because of me--_**

**_I'll never forgive myself._**

"You have to wake up…"

_**Never.**_

Meanwhile, Raven was fighting her own losing battle against nature itself…

She knew she was alive, but finding the waking world was a different matter. When Riona had attacked Raven, she had intended to flood and corrupt the dark-haired girl's magic type—in essence, kill her. Beast Boy's brief interference was the only thing that might have actually given her a fighting chance; he had quite literally cut the attack's power in half. H had absorbed some and she had absorbed some, but the energy had still put her in a paralyzed state, and she had to fight with all she could to reclaim her own health.

Beast Boy began to drift off to sleep again as the effects of the attack began to strengthen. A few tears dripped from his eyes, and mingled with the rainwater that fell onto his teammate's cold and lifeless cheeks. Her heartbeat melted into the white noise of the warehouse. A whine of sorrow escaped him, and then he heard her pulse flat line.

**_She's going to die because of me—because I was helpless to stop all of this._**

**_There's nothing left for me in this world anymore…_**

* * *

Dun, dun, dun. Hiatus time. :p **J/K.** Next chapter up soon. And sorry if the shortness upsets any of you, it was intentional.


	16. December 14th

Hey ya'll. Sorry this took a lot longer than intended. I just had to make sure that I covered all of the important plot points before posting.

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

acosta perez jose ramiro: Thanks.

Agent of the Divine One: As usual, your reviews are just cryptic enough for me to reply to. Lol.

Mr. Average: Lol. Thanks. I hardly ever take a hiatus on my stories-- I find I don't finish them that way!

CLAREsaysHI: Thanks again. Although it does upset me that I can describe forlorness and depression so well. oO

Raven'sWinterRaine: Lol. Idk they could be zombies then! :p

BBRaefan: Yeah, I was strongly considering just putting the Hiatus thing up their with no j/k after it, but I didn't want to lose readers.

titanfan45: Thanks, I used to be really good at cliffhangers-- and it seems I still got it. :D

Akki Rei: Read on to find out. ;)

too many stars to count: Thanks. :D

Ikasury: As ironic as that is, I was actually working on the finishing touchs of my chapter-- ready to post it and then I saw that you reviewed. So I had to write you in my shoutouts section before posting. :d

Raven of Alaska: Ahhh too many questions! J/k

Jocelyn Torrent: Ah yes the joy of cliffhangers. I try not to do that so often anymore, but ah you know. :o

iluvbb: Well I just don't hope you fall out of your chair on this one.

SxStrngSamurai13: I know how that can be. Just glad to see ya back on board because things are about to get interesting...

azarielthebladed: Ah, very good point. We'll have to see won't we? ;)

Alman626: Actually I was aiming to show how often we take our sight for granted, but that's one way of looking at it. :d

**_Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots... Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'_**

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic_ thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

* * *

**Explain This to Me**

A rolling wind danced across an open moorland. Blades of grass whistled in the warm breeze as the sun shone brightly in the clear sky. A small farm house was settled in the distance under the shade of a calm oak tree where a human girl was tending to a wide patch of forlorn looking grass.

"Playing in the garden again are we?" a deep voice spoke stained with amusement.

The young sixteen year old turned around quickly to face the voice that had addressed her, "Altair! Don't do that-- you sound just like Father when he's angry." she grinned rushing towards the green-winged gryphon and wrapping her arms tightly around his feathered neck, "But no, I'm not playing, I'm actually trying grow things in ourgarden. Remember, we're on our own now. And we'll have to grow our own food--"

"I know that, Riona." he replied simply to the pretty blonde-haired girl, flicking his tail as he spoke, "We'll be fine." he paused as though he'd remembered something very interesting, "Come, I want to show you something." he rose to his paws once more.

Walking regally toward the meager patch of grass that the girl was calling her garden, he extended a clawed foot forward. He flicked his wrist and in a swift motion a crackle of golden energy sprinkled over the plant stems. The tiny sparkles melted into the sickly stems of foliage, but in a quick heartbeat, the plants shot up straight and tall-- growing a few inches taller than what they had originally been.

The young girl stared in wonder, and astonishment; a gleam of potential reflected in her green eyes, "What was that Altair?"

"A type of magic we gryphons have mastered." he seemed to brim with pride, "It's normally used to help plants grow, and heal others. But it does pack a punch if you want to protect yourself." he breathed in deeply once he noticed her pointed stare, "I know that you're thinking I should teach it to you-- but I am afraid of what your ambition would do with such power."

"My ambition?" she replied dumbfounded, "I just think it's interesting." she gave him a reassuring smile, "Besides, what would I need with magic?"

He fluttered his wings in amusement, "I suppose should teach you some sort of protection so that you won't be helpless while I'm gone."

"You're going away?" her voice distraught, "You can't-- you're all that I have left. I can't go back to my family, to the castle, and being a princess."

"I meant throughout the day." he replied evenly, "I know I won't be gone long, but you can never be too sure. Let me teach you a simple move…"

A dark schism cut the pretty painting of camaraderie like a knife through butter. A dark and cold overwhelming sensation filled the space. A fluttering of wings, and a beam of green light parted the looming shadows, "Do not be afraid. I have been watching you, young sorceress, and I believe that my help is what you and your family need now." an elegant voice spoke, drowning out the white noise of silence.

A dark-haired girl pushed herself from the ground, and rubbed her tired eyes, "Where am I? I'm not dead am I?" she sighed, "I can't be dead…" she drew her fingertips across her lips in contemplation, before finally focusing her eyes on the green beacon of light that was standing before her, "You're a gryphon." she breathed in total awe.

"And you're a human. Now that we've gotten that out of the way," the spirit gryphon replied, "There are many things you must know--"

"Am I alive? Is that what you're telling me?" she asked, seeming quite drained, "There's no way I could've fended off that attack-- Oh no, Beast Boy!" she had never been so befuddled and awkward in her life.

The green figure's light dwindled slightly, he looked upward, "There isn't much time-- my name is Altair. Meditate to contact me again-- you must-- I will atone for the wrongs of my past."

Starlight flickered overhead as painful sensations filled her body, and as the dreamscape was being ripped from her in an electric-like volt, she realized that he had helped her return to the living. A nasty cough expelled from her throat; her eyes flew open, "Wh--" she tried to speak, but her throat felt numb and empty. With a searching gaze she viewed her friends all around her, she tried to speak again.

"Friend Raven," the soft voice of Starfire cooed, "Can you not speak?"

A shiver escaped her-- opening her mouth nothing but air fell from her lips, so Cyborg answered instead, "When she was attacked, Riona tried to disable her in the way she would be affected the most, so that if she miraculously survived, it would be a much more difficult recovery for her specifically. It makes sense for her to take Rae's voice-- no voice, no magic."

"Oh does that mean that Raven will no longer be able to speak?" Starfire cried, wrapping her arms around the dark-haired girl tightly.

Cyborg quirked his lips a moment before turning his gaze towards the console once more, "I was concerned about that too. But according to the data, and MRIs it only looks like her throat has been severely strained. She'll probably slowly regain her ability to talk. And if she heals herself anytime soon, even quicker."

Starfire smiled brightly, "You'll be able to speak again! I can not wait to partake in the girl talk!"

Raven half-winced at that, but still felt a warm flare of hope that her friend was getting back to her normal bubbly self. Although, she did notice that Robin was acting very standoffish despite her most recent change and she surmised that he was still upset about all of the recent occurrences.

The purple-eyed heroine glanced to her side and realized that she'd been hooked up to all kinds of machines in the med bay. And most recently, a defibrillator. Shuddering she looked back towards Robin with a forlorn expression; there was a million things she needed to tell. Robin sighed heavily, "I'm sorry I didn't get to you guys sooner-- I had to call for back up because there was no way I could lift you all myself." he sounded completely mournful, "And then, we didn't really know how to heal any of you…"

She raised her hand as though to say 'It's alright.' A stray thought collided into her conscious mind, _Is Beast Boy alright?_

As though the orange-haired girl had heard her friend, she answered, "Beast Boy is also alright. He is still blind however." she frowned.

"It's still a mystery as to how you guys lived," Cyborg cut in, "Star and I were only hit with stray electricity, but you and B were hit with that direct stuff. And you couldn't heal yourself." he glanced at Raven with confusion bemusing his face.

At once, a thought popped into her head, _Altair…he must have intervened…_

After a few more minutes of idle chatter, Cyborg and Starfire exited the med bay. The dark-haired boy stared at his teammate with uncertainty. Raven gave him a wondering look and attempted to give him the hint that she was ready to listen. He nodded acknowledgement, "Raven, are you sure you and Beast Boy are alright?"

_I'd have to look at him to really know…_ she thought, but nodded 'Yes' to her leader.

He seemed skeptical; a painful sigh escaped him as he took a seat by her bed, "I wish you could say something. It's hard to lead the team without your advice." he admitted with a half-grin, she smiled in return as he continued, "I just don't know what to do about everything-- it's so much to process at once…" he trailed off a second.

Raven shook her head-- not believing him for a second-- that he didn't have _any _ideas about moving forward-- so he quickly added, "I know we're going after Riona-- that's a no-brainer. I can't forgive her for what she's done to us all. I would never forgive myself if I had lost any of you."

The girl nodded her understanding-- the team was so tight-knit anymore it was inevitable to not feel an overwhelming amount of loyalty to each other. Softly, she took his hand as the only way to communicate her understanding of his upset. He clasped her fingers, "I don't know what I would do without you all." he sighed again, "I'm not sure what to do about Starfire…"

The girl sighed, _I hate not being able to speak…_ she thought idly as he began speaking again, "She told me that Speedy was the one who convinced her certain…things were true."

She stiffened slightly knowing good and well that she wasn't the only one who'd known ahead of time the funny business the orange-haired alien was delving in. There was a grumble in his voice when he spoke again, "I'm not sure if I can fully believe her, but at the same time it's funny-- Speedy and I always joked about that sort of thing-- cheating-- but I never thought he'd actually do it. And what's worse is that Beast Boy knew about this the whole time and didn't say a thing. He lied to me too Raven." he snorted and folded his arms.

Raven bit back her own wash of guilt; she donned a look of compassion that soon fell into a muted one, "You knew something too, didn't you?" he had noticed her sudden shifty behavior, "I had a suspicion, but I've never been one to accuse."

She stifled what would have been laughter, _Oh brother…_

He gave her a pointed glare, "Alright so maybe I have before-- and when you can talk again, I want to know why **no one **in this house told me about all the funny business that was going on."

She looked away from him when he spoke those words, _What could I do? You needed to know, but I didn't know how to tell you…_

"Anyway, we need a way to punish Speedy. His lying almost cost us the stability of the team. And a little revenge wouldn't be so bad."

Another sigh was released from her, _He always tries to act like he's bigger than the others, but on the inside he's still the same…Boys…_then remembering her meeting with Altair-- the gryphon who might be their only escape from a terrible fate-- she knew that she had to find a way to her meditation mirror.

When she tried to move from the bed, her tired limbs cried out and restrained her, "Raven, you need your rest. We all need you and Beast Boy to be in peak physical condition once we figure out where Riona's hiding."

She nodded, and allowed herself to sink into the white cushion once more. Robin seemed lost in thought, before he finally stood up, "I'll come visit you two later." he pulled back a curtain to reveal Beast Boy's sleeping form only a ruler's length away.

Yawning, she decided that sleep was best-- that is-- until she heard the green-eyed boy's voice call out to her, "Raven? Are you okay?"

She felt too weak to even move let alone use any of her telekinetic powers to communicate her presence, so she merely sighed and closed her eyes; there was no use for a mute to try to communicate with a blind person. When his ears picked up the faint shifting of her bed sheets, "You must be asleep." he mused, rolling over, _I miss her even though she's right next to me…_

_**December 14 2007 5:30:45 am**_

_**That was a close one. I've never been so afraid of death in my life. Not only for my own life, but also for those around me. I mean, Slade always pushed us to an extreme, but not like this…**_

After a few short hours, Raven could no longer bear 'resting' and struggled to her feet. With shaky and slow footsteps she managed to get to her room. Although, she was tentative about what her powers might do, she knew she had to contact Altair as soon as possible. She knew numerous things about mythical beings-- she'd studied about them her whole life-- among other things-- and even though Gryphons could be befriended by humans and made tame, she still had no clue why this particular one had decided to intervene.

Picking up her meditation mirror, she slowly breathed out, and managed to speak her mantra in broken syllables. In a swift rush of black, she vanished into her silver mirror. She rubbed her neck soothingly, feeling the strain tug at her even within the confines of her own mind. The normal dark and dreary dreamscape that was her mind seemed different somehow-- the rock platforms were laced with strings of vegetation. She knew at once what had caused the difference-- another spirit was present.

She sneered, "Altair are you there?

A glimmering green spirit appeared before her, "Yes?"

"No one said you could dwell here."

"My apologies," he replied evenly, as the plants began to wither away, "I was merely staying in a place where you would be able to find me quickly." he sat onto his haunches and fixated his gaze upon her.

She sighed for what seemed to be the umpteenth time that day, "I have to know-- were you the one who saved us?"

He flicked his tail in response, "I had to-- you may be the only ones who can correct my Age old error. And the only ones who care enough to save this place." he glanced around her dreamscape as though to indicate what he was speaking of.

Raven stared at him with a pang of uncertainty swimming in her stomach, "What affinity could you have about saving Jump City? And what about my voice, and his blindness?"

Good naturedly, he answered, "I made your vocal strain temporary, as is your friend's blindness."

There was a long pause; he diverted his gaze from the perceptive heroine, "It is not so much your city, as it is my honor. If that will satisfy your need to know my underlining intentions." he returned his gaze her, "There is a history you must know…"

_**Once I woke up again, I couldn't hear Raven. So I feared the worst-- she couldn't possibly be dead, could she? She just went for a walk or something right?**_

Testing out his limbs, he found that most of the soreness had disappeared. Clambering out of the medical cot, he placed his shaky limbs on the ground, In a swift motion, he yanked the heart monitor suction cup cord from his chest. Blocking out the normal urge to use his sight, he closed his eyes and tried to hone his other directional sensing skills.

A fuzzy memory of the layout in the med bay came to mind. Carefully, he picked his way towards what he believed to be the door, "Hey, get back into bed Beast Boy-- where's Raven?" it was Cyborg. The half-metal Titan crossed the room quickly and lifted his friend back into bed despite his protests.

"I'm better now. Raven's alive right?"

"Of course she is-- and she needs to be in here too." he grumbled, "You two are so stubborn all the time it's no wonder to me why you survived that." His voice held a scolding tone mixed with relief that his friends were still intact.

"Glad to see you too buddy." he remarked pleasantly.

There was a quick pause, before Cyborg spoke again, "That's so weird."

"What?" his friend blinked curiously.

"You're eyes that's all."

"What's wrong with them?" he groaned, piercing his friend's clear gaze with a murky, green one-- much like the pale glass in the older styled liquor bottles.

"Nothing. They just-- I mean your eyes always change with the animals you become, but they've never looked like this."

"My my you've paying close attention." he scoffed.

"Anyway," Cyborg rolled his eyes at his friend's sudden crankiness, "Stay here. I'm going to find Raven, and put her back in bed where she _belongs_." he emphasized the last word as though to make a point to him.

A wave of threatening heat washed over the younger boy's senses, "Okay, okay-- I'll stay in bed."

**_Grumble grumble….oh wait-- I should probably write something important…_**

**_But what?_**

The young blonde-haired girl strolled towards her small cottage. Leisurely, she took time to study the flowers that she passed. Idly a basket was held in her fingertips occasionally brushing against its owner's legs. A painful cry pierced her calm; glancing at her surroundings she tried to pinpoint the source of the cry. A terrified squeak pierced the sky once more and she rushed through the last leg of territory to her cottage. Stopping short, she realized what was making the terrible wails; a baby bird had fallen from it's nest near the house. The girl kneeled to look at the pitiful creature.

"You're hurt," she mused softly, looking at its limp wings, and mussed tail feathers, "Now how did Altair do that healing magic again?"

She flicked her wrist just so, and muttered a few words under her breath. A trickle of blue sparks fizzled from her fingertips. Grumbling, she lifted the baby bird inside so that Altair could heal it when he returned. The images melted away into a starlit darkness again. The dark-haired beaut looked at the gryphon expectantly.

With a sad expression, he finished telling the story, "That was only the first time that she brought home an injured animal. Soon enough there were more animals living with us then we knew what to with." he paused dramatically, "And then it happened-- it is something I will never forget..."

The small cottage began to rattle violently. Shaking and creaking as the wind raced by. Riona sat up in bed shifting her gaze around the house. Letting her gaze slide over the many animals that inhabited the house, she discovered that the dreadful racket was coming from outdoors. Pulling on her wooden shoes, she opened the door to look for the source of the disturbance. A thick army came channeling through the tall grass of the field. Weaving its way towards the cottage as a storm boiled overhead.

Fright stole her voice; hurriedly, she shut the door and rushed to her gryphon's side. She pushed his shoulders as he slept on the floor, "Altair, Altair! They've found us."

His golden eyes flew open in alarm, "Are you sure?" he half-snorted while scrambling to his paws.

"That's father's army out there. He always said he'd find us again."

"I know." he agreed remorsefully, "We have to get out of here now."

She glanced around the room that was filled with tiny animals, "But what about them?"

"We'll have to leave without them." but before she could protest, he lifted her onto his back and bolted through the door. Snarling and hissing he viciously broke through the army. His body quickly lifted off of the ground leaving behind strong gusts of wind in his wake.

"That be the Kings's daughter!" one of the pike men cried, "On the back of the terrible beast that stole her away!"

Altair soared upward still never minding to look back, but his companion did. She looked over her shoulder to see the cottage go up in flames with the terrible wails of animals in the distance; a mutated chorus of different voices that seemed to cry "Riona! Riona! Save us!!" Shuddering, she buried her face into his neck brush and cried piteously.

Altair halted his words as though they were too painful to continue. Sighing, he resettled himself on the cold platform of rock in which he had been standing, "She was bitter to say the least. Terribly upset-- they were her pets-- so to speak. Her family." he seemed to be biting back a vile taste in his mouth, "She blamed me most of all, however. Nothing could've worsened the situation."

The tiny wheels in Raven's mind were beginning to click, _So that explains the ghostly animals, the forest, and the stormy weather, but where does Biomorphicism come in? _

"At least until I--" he closed his tired eyes as he spoke, all liveliness within his being disappeared.

The heroine waited a moment before encouraging him to continue, "We all have mistakes in our past that wish we hadn't made." and then much to her surprise she added, "I know I have."

Mild interest in the dark-haired girl's words danced across his expression, "Like what?"

"A lot." she admitted with a guarded tone, "But this isn't about me-- this is about you. So don't change the subject."

A weak snort escaped him, "I'm the one who taught her that terrible magic you've been fighting."

Raven could not withhold her knee-jerk reaction, "What!? How could you?!"

Wincing, he continued, "She wanted to know the magic gryphons possess-- there was no name for it back then. But the more forward thinking, and well versed wizards called it Biomorphicism. If I am correct." he shook his head distastefully, "It wasn't a power to be used for conquest, it was meant for defense, and reforming the earth."

"You still haven't answered my question--"

He cut her short, "I'm getting to that!" he half-snapped, and then recoiled in shame as though he was reliving the memories at that very moment, "My brethren warned me not to teach it to a human-- but I was stubborn and foolish-- I wanted her to be safe." he whipped his tail defiantly, "So I taught it to her just the same. But it corrupted her. She's always been an ambitious girl. She wanted revenge for her grievances."

Raven nodded knowingly, _She's not the only one…_ she was thinking of Robin then.

"I tried to reason with her. But she wouldn't listen to me. It wasn't a power meant for mankind--" he sighed heavily, "And finally, I imprisoned her being within the confines of a book because I did not have the strength to kill her myself. But my only mistake was that she would only stay imprisoned as long as I was alive."

Bewilderment hit her roughly, "So you actually are a spirit-- not a projection…Then," she bit her lip in contemplation, "This all very enlightening--"

Suddenly she was yanked from her mind by Cyborg's arm, "Alright defiant Missy, back to bed you go."

She wanted to cry out in protest, but for obvious reasons, she could not. With a sore aggravation, she folded her arms idly as she was taken back to the med bay. He returned her gently to the medical cot, "Now stay here. Any more field trips and I'm locking you both in here." he added warningly as he shut the door.

Beast Boy could feel her presence through the heat her body was giving off and from the smell of what remained of her delicate perfume (most of it had been washed away in the thunderstorm). He stared in the direction of her cot, which he knew was in line with the door, "Raven?"

_**All I could think was 'I want to be near her-- I have to be near her now--'**_

"Raven? Why are you ignoring me?"

She grumbled, _Apparently, __he hasn't been informed of my…ahem…condition…_

"If it's about the boyfriend thing, I'm sorry. It's alright if you're not ready for that kind of commitment. I can wait." he half-heartedly grinned.

Finally exasperated with the boy's incessant self-consciousness, and doubt of their current situation, she pulled herself from her bed. Climbing into his cot-- much to his astonishment-- she wrapped her arms tightly around his midsection-- her face pressed comfortably into his broad chest. At once, his arms wrapped around her. He could sense waves of raw emotion flooding his senses-- as though she was desperately trying to say 'I missed you-- I'm glad you're alive-- Hold me'.

_**At least that's what I deducted from it all. She's never hugged me like that before, and honestly, I was thinking the same thing.**_

She snuggled tightly into his chest to assure him that she would speak to him if she could. Many lingering thoughts still crowded her mind, but for once, she decided to be content in that moment-- relishing his company-- and allowing herself to relax into his tender embrace. He couldn't have been happier-- he had blamed himself for what had happened earlier that week. But now…

_**I'm glad you're alive.**_

He pressed a kiss to her temple, "Raven, I thought I'd never see you again…"

She shivered at this comment, before staring into his clouded sightless eyes. Her voice cracked again, _Me either…_

_**I missed you.**_

"It's alright, you don't have to say anything. I can already feel it." he smiled as he buried his face in her soft locks of hair. Soothingly, he rubbed small circles into her back as the two slowly drifted off to sleep-- comfortable in one another's arms.

_**Hold me…forever.**_

_**-B.B.**_

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Ta dah! It feels like it took me forever to post!! Might be much longer on the next chapters. I have to take a break to gather my thoughts and make sure that my story maintains its fluency.


	17. December 17th

Okay, one more chapter of the boring explanation stuff and then we can hit the action-y stuff-- I promise! :D Also a special thanks to my Beta Reader **Jocelyn Torrent**. :) Please read my note at the end too everybody! :)

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

acosta perez jose ramiro: Thanks as usual. You always know the right thing to say.

Agent of the Divine One: Hehe, I hate to kill the drama of 'are they together/are they not' but they have to have a happy ending sometime...right? :

Mr. Average: It's alright, sometimes I have problems writing reviews for people too. :(

Raven'sWinterRaine: Glad you think so. I thought it might prove for some interesting and humorous situations.

titanfan45: It was my intent. :)

Akki Rei: Whatever gave you the idea that he would turn into a gryphon? :)

too many stars to count: Hehe, I thought it was adorable too. I can't wait 'til Raven lets go of her inhibitions. :3

Ikasury:As usual your endless wit amuses me. :3 I know that Altair and Riona's past is very much like things we've all read before. It's a very common concept and it occurs quite often in the natural world, so I have no reservations about writing it this way. Oh and I didn't put italics in the beginning because it wasn't a flashback-- Raven was dreaming before Altair disturbed it to tell her she's alive. And the other parts are where he's telling her about it, so I didn't think italicizing it was necessary. :p

Jocelyn Torrent: Just tearing apart my work at every turn aren't'cha? Lol. J/k

iluvbb: Lol. My cat always dominates my lap too. :D

Alman626: :D Cyborg was just making a comment about his eyes for no reason. Have you ever seen a blind person with clouded over eyes? Sometimes it can be unnerving, I mean you know they can't see you, but it looks like they still are anyway.

Tears of Trees: Actually, I've noticed that a lot of creatures/people are bound to book in mythology and such. It wasn't very original, I know, but it works eh?

D Hurricane: Not at all! I love long reviews. Just write to your heart's content! And thanks, I'm glad you like my story so much. :) And so far everyone's favorite addition seems to be Kissing Tag-- and I don't blame them, two really fun things put together-- how can you beat that? :D

_**Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots... Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'**_

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic_ thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

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**Explain This to Me**

**_December 17 2007 7:13:21 am_**

_**Somehow, I could see this coming. But who am I to complain? I didn't do anything to stop it from coming. C'est la vie, it was inevitable...I suppose.**_

Idly, the green-haired boy sat before his leader. His sight had yet to return, so he kept his gaze staring straight ahead with no expression in his stormy eyes. It was a strange concept to think of Beast Boy as being emotionless. Robin, however, was pacing furiously before him-- another strange concept-- he never paced.

_**I seriously thought he was going to spontaneously combust-- the friction and static heat I could feel rushing over my senses was enough to convince me that he was beyond upset.**_

At last, he paused his quick pacing; halting like he'd hit a brick wall. A powerful, and overwhelming emotion rushed over the changeling; all of his senses were screaming in fear and upset. Every fiber of his being was demanding that he bolt because the outcome of this confrontation would only bring pain. But obediently, the boy remained where he was, knowing good and well that he kinda, sorta deserved it.

_**Cyborg hadn't known about all of Starfire's funny business until a few days ago, so he was exempt from this little pow wow, and Robin was already working things out with Starfire separately, so that only left me...**_

A smaller hand was twined in his hand. He held her hand gently for comfort.

…_**and her.**_

But when their leader finally spoke, it wasn't as harsh as they had expected, but as though a frosty calm had weaved around his tired heart, "How long have you known?"

"Too long." the younger boy admitted a sad expression creeping onto his lips, "We--" a rush of a negative emotion hit his higher senses, as though he might hit a wall if he didn't stop speaking. He realized that it was coming from Robin. Robin put up a hand in a motion to silence him, but realized that his friend wouldn't be able to see him, "Beast Boy, wait." Beast Boy blinked in recognition as the dark-haired boy continued, "Raven, can you speak yet?"

Raven gave him a sad look, "My voice is returning." she replied quietly, "Cyborg and I did an analysis this morning to try and find a pattern in the energy's effect." the dark-haired boy nodded for her to continue, "Beast Boy was only blind for the time in which he was asleep the first time he was attacked. He was asleep for about three hours, give or take."

"So that means--" he began, but she held a gentle hand up for his cooperation-- it was hard enough projecting her voice-- she didn't need anyone interrupting her too. He sighed in understanding and let her continue, "So this morning, when Cyborg came in to check up on us, I found that I could speak again. Although, it is still somewhat painful. He theorized that even though there are degrees of blindness, Beast Boy's sight came back full strength once the attack's power wore off. But in my case, it's different because throat damage still equates to the same result-- voice strain or loss thereof." she paused and took a few deep breaths, "Since these senses work differently, there were obviously different outcomes."

Robin nodded, "Your voice is going to come back gradually isn't it?"

She nodded her agreement, "I was plagued with a case of aphonic or voice loss due to the injuries inflicted upon my larynx-- which has been reduced to a temporary strain thanks to a particular benefactor. I've also been setting aside energy to heal myself so that the effects of it wear off quicker. Or else I may havesuffered this strain much longer than a three mere hours-- days even." her voice suddenly dropped into a much darker octave, "In a normal situation, there would be no coming back from damage like this."

Beast Boy turned his sightless gaze upon her, "What about me? Will I ever see again?"

She diverted her attention from her leader to the boy sitting beside her, "If our theory is correct, then yes. We would've tried to find a pattern, but their's no telling. If it was supposed to be three hours, than you've already missed that mark. Maybe the pattern could've been three days but we've already passed that mark too. Once I've healed my voice, I can work on your blindness. Altair assured me that the effects were temporary."

"Altair?" Robin cut in, "Who's that?"

Raven realized that she'd somehow managed to not inform her teammates of their magical recovery-- they all assumed her body had saved them subconsciously she supposed. She let out a half-sigh, "Altair is a gryphon. He's the one that saved Beast Boy and me from Riona's magic."

Thoughts attacked Robin from all sides; colliding into his consciousness, making a cognitive thought hard to form in those shallow heartbeats. He waved away all of his passing thoughts, "We'll discuss that later Raven." she nodded while he continued, "So I ask again-- how long have you known?"

She swallowed all the self-loathing she felt in that frail second, "Beast Boy is right-- we knew too long and said nothing. We wanted to tell you." her voice melting into a mere whisper again in the face of her throat strain, "But we couldn't-- it would--"

"Hurt my feelings?" he icily cut in, "It's too late for that. I trusted you all, and now--"

"Please, Robin," her quiet voice countered, "It just got out of hand. And then with everything else going on--"

He stared at her earnest clear gaze with a pointed glare. Beast Boy could sense the wash of painful remorse twisting around their fragile hearts; the strong bond between them weakening. A deep sigh escaped him again. He glanced between the two as though he could will the answers he needed from their lips, as though he could drive the clock back a few weeks to change Starfire's mind when everything had started and keep the status quo of their relationship.

_**Robin and Raven have always been exceptionally close-- like brother and sister-- like Star and me. But somehow...**_

She gripped Beast Boy's hand tighter with her fingers perfectly interlocked in his-- not even a hair space between them. A painful feeling of betrayal washed over her form-- much to her companion's confusion. He rubbed his thumb gently against her hand in response as though it would calm her anxiety. This exchange did not remain unnoticed by the perceptive dark-haired boy. Stiffly, he turned his back to the pair. Staring out of the wide window, he seemed unable to speak for quite some time.

_**It seems that I'm slowly replacing Robin's importance in her life. Maybe she hadn't realized it before; a lot of what's happened was subconscious impulse. She reacted to things in a way that felt most natural. A couple of years ago her natural impulse would be to confide in Robin about **__**everything**__**, even the most secret of things. **_

The dark-haired boy finally returned an even gaze to the pair, "What more can I say? Next time something like this happens, please report it to me first." his entire form embodied the notion of a defeated man, "And don't forget the Conference in a few hours. I want you two to replace Star.." he broke off suddenly, and as though using a nickname was taboo, he added, "fire and me because you two know more about this magic stuff than the rest of us. Make sure you debrief them well."

_**She barely talked to me back then, but slowly, she's been replacing her best friend--**_

The two in question stood as one. Beast Boy knew he had more to say, but the painful words wouldn't come. So, he tugged her hand indicating he was ready to leave. But she seemed frozen in place, "I'll be there in a minute." she whispered.

_**with me. **_

He nodded his understanding and backed up a few steps before he slowly picked his way towards the door. Once they were alone, an onslaught of upset reclaimed the dark-haired boy, "Raven, how could she? Speedy confused her a little, but shouldn't she already know how I feel about her?"

For him to find out that love of his life cheating on him was painful enough, but finding out that his friends had kept it from him-- including his best friend no less-- was completely unbearable. She hadn't a clue what was keeping him standing.

_**And truthfully, I never realized that our relationship would probably shake the team a bit. Maybe in the back part of my mind that's actually thinking, but I never thought I get this far with her. : D**_

She gazed at him forlornly, "He told her that you didn't care at all. And then you ignored her for awhile; reinforcing what Speedy was saying."

"How could you say that?" his voice tainted with an unfamiliar hurt, "I asked her to marry me for God's sake!"

His teammate shrunk a bit at his words, she had seen and felt a slew of his emotions a thousand times over the years, but never an upset like this. Robin never let confusion plague him. He figured out what he didn't know through facts, logical reasoning-- but that was his problem entirely-- it wasn't a matter of facts or logic, but of feelings. And feelings sometimes made no sense at all.

"Robin, I'm sorry. But she just didn't see it that way." she wanted to approach him and comfort her companion but the gaze he burned into her skin kept her away, "She saw it as you being bossy, and pushy, and just asking her because it was something you wanted-- not because you loved her and wanted to make her happy."

"How do you figure?" he inarticulately growled.

"She said she wasn't ready but you still pushed for it anyway."

"That doesn't give her a reason to cheat!" he barked in reply, feeling that his friend was taking sides with the lady in question.

"There's never a reason to cheat." she responded calmly, "But she was confused. Sometimes feelings aren't logical. That's why they're called feelings." her extra emphasis on the word feelings showed her own upset with the complicated concept of human emotions.

A small trickle of somewhat sad laughter passed his lips, "You're finally biting the bullet with this one...aren't you?"

"I have to trust myself sometime." she replied simply, "He calls it instinct."

He seemed to be soaking her words up. After a lengthy pause, she spoke again, "Can't you forgive her? Forgive yourself?"

"Forgive myself?" he echoed, a frigid calm replacing his distracted demeanor.

She approached him tentatively, "Because you're blaming yourself for something that's not your fault-- just like you always do." she gave him a small smile. The door creaked open behind her, but she hadn't noticed. The green-eyed boy peered around the door as though he could see if the pair was finished talking or not. His ears twitched and he felt waves of comfortable heat, completely unlike the frigid cool that had once contained the room, flowing over his sharpened senses.

Calmly, he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Beast Boy's waiting for you." he forced all of the jealously out of his voice, but she felt it slap her subconscious as rough as a wooden plank.

She warranted him one last sympathetic look, before she disappeared out of the room again. Beast Boy held his hand out to hers eagerly, "We have to prepare for the meeting remember?"

"How could I forget?" she rolled her eyes. Hesitantly she linked her fingers with his. Glancing over her shoulder one last time, she felt an unbelievably strong pull to race back and comfort her 'brother'. But he was too stubborn and hurt-- he wouldn't probably listen to her for awhile. She was no help to him now.

"You know," he said at length as they walked down the hallway, "you don't have to pick or chose me or him. You're best friends-- I get it."

"That's just it, he sees it as a choice." she responded diplomatically, "To him I have to make a decision about which boy is more important to me."

"That's stupid Rae, we're all important to each other." he gave her a pointed look.

"I know that. But this is Robin we're talking about." she sighed again, "I'm sure eventually he'll see that you're both important to me." she captured his gaze with her clear one, and even though he could not see, an intense feeling of understand passed between them, "I can't imagine living without you or the others." she leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to his cheek.

"Me either Rae." he replied with a warm smile, reciprocating the sweet kiss, "Now let's go do something exciting!" he nearly jumped.

"Beast Boy, we're still healing, we can't just go gallivanting off on some adventure."

"Why not?" he playfully asked, taking off in an exaggerated slow sprint towards one of the many door that led to the roof, "Oh no, I might hurt myself running!" He faked a fumble as though he might trip, and felt a raw irritation foaming off of her in rows, he glanced back at her, "I might not ever feel my legs again." he began to hop, and the fell dramatically to the floor in a pitiful crawl, "Raven, the pain!" he groaned overdramatically.

"I'll make you think pain…" she grumbled to herself, as she began to catch up, "Oh Beast Boy, I think you forgot something--"

Once he noticed that she was rapidly approaching him, he scampered off of the floor, and bolted up the stairs. And despite her better nature, will-power, and judgment, she thundered up the stairs after him. Throwing the door open, she saw him already preparing to make one of his famous jumps. She crossed the expanse slower than her playful companion had but still with a hurried intent.

She sauntered towards him with a nervous flicker beating erratically in her chest, he showed no signs of ceasing his assault on her already nervous heart even as she came to be only a ruler's length from him, "Garfield Logan, if you don't get away from that railing this instant." She hoarsely cried, trying to will her voice louder, but it was still a creaking whisper like an old house.

His ears flicked in acknowledgement, "Live a little, Raven," he replied in an overloud voice as though to tease her inability to speak louder, "And if you call me Garfield again, I will hurt you." he flashed a toothy grin in her direction.

A slanted glare filled her expression, "You're muscles are still too weak to even walk let alone do what you're thinking of doing! Please, don't do this."

"But this might be the only chance to test my skills blindly." he laughed at his own pun.

Begrudgingly, she folded her arms and stood near the edge of the railing. She was bamboozled when he actually jumped off the Tower into one of his dangerous freefalls. He had been talking about it, but she figured he was bluffing to show off or be brave for her (she thought he was being ridiculous, but then again, she always thought he acted a little ridiculous). Unable to contain her fear for what may happen to him, she flew after him.

He coasted towards the ground on the rippling wind easily. But suddenly, he seemed unable to morph; she could see him floundering as his form crept closer and closer to the ground. The girl knew she would not be fast enough to catch him, but before she could will some of her energy to form a cushion-like platform for him to fall into, a flash of green swooped by and left him to safely tumble the last fox-tail length. She realized at once that it was Altair interfering again. She hadn't known that a spirit could still have so much influence on the living.

_It would be better for everyone if you were to remain alive…_ she heard a voice chide within the confines of her mind.

Clumsily, she glided down the last few feet feeling another spirit's presence guiding her tired form to the beachside. Blinking, and brushing away the sand from his face, he stared dimly towards the ocean. Once she had flopped onto the beach, she began rubbing her sore limbs while muttering to herself about silly changelings. Eventually, she walked to the boy, "Are you okay?"

"That was AWESOME!!" he cried suddenly shocking his companion into recoil.

Finally reclaiming control of her heartbeat, "I can't believe you did that." she growled, pushing herself off the ground, "I'm going inside."

"Aw, don't be like that," he feigned a whine, "I was just having some fun."

"Fun?" her voice cracked, "What's your specialty? Angina?!" She continued to mutter to herself as she traipsed through the sand toward the Tower's main entrance.

"What's angina?" he wondered aloud, making no move to stop her. (It's chest pain that can lead to a heart attack if anyone's wondering. ;) )

_**Call me a stubborn old fool... :p but really, there's no reasoning with an angry Raven. Best to let her cool down and…oh you know what…I almost forgot…**_

An auburn-haired boy walked into the common room of Titan's Tower. He shifted his gaze nervously from one side of the room to the other. He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. Robin had sent the boy a digital summons to the main headquarters. The boy re-read the printout he had been given, _URGENT: Please report to Titan's West Tower IMMEDIATELY._

He sighed loudly, and almost as on cue Robin came walking down the stairs with a determined expression. The red-head gave the boy a nod, "What's with the urgency?"

"I'll explain that soon enough, Speedy." the dark-haired boy replied, keeping his gaze squared, "The rest of us are meeting in the Conference Room soon so why don't you head over there now."

Warily, he heeded his 'advice'. Even though his tone was friendly, and his pose was relaxed, Speedy could tell that Robin's words meant business. Without conflict, the taller boy walked past his second leader and up the stairs that led to the Conference Room. When Robin didn't follow him upstairs, relief reclaimed Speedy.

He was about to open the door but he heard voices. Pausing he pressed an ear to the door, "But what about Robin, I can't possibly--" a feminine voice was saying, which he shortly realized was Starfire.

"It'll be alright, he _never_ has to know." a masculine voice replied, but he was having difficulty discerning the voice. There was a long pause before the masculine voice spoke again, "Come on Star, you let Speedy in the door no problem. Why hold me up? I'm good at keeping secrets. Besides, you know I've always kinda had a thing for ya."

"You would not-- tell them would you?"

"Like Hell I would-- so pucker up sweetie!"

Afraid to be found out, she replied fearfully, "Only if you promise not to tell the others."

"I'm waiting." the voice flirtatiously replied, which Speedy finally realized to be Beast Boy. His blood boiled, _How dare he!!_

Speedy couldn't take it anymore, he threw the door open, "How could you!?" he glared at the pair before him.

Beast Boy and Starfire broke away from the intense gazes they had been giving each other to maintain the 'illusion'. Starfire gave him an upset expression, "Speedy, I did not know--"

"Obviously not." the auburn-haired archer growled.

"Buzz off, not everyone can be a home wrecker like you." Beast Boy glared, folding his arms.

It was then that Speedy realized he'd been set up, been had, even, "Why you little--" his words were abruptly cut short once he noticed all of the other Titans were present. Cyborg was snickering, Raven was smirking and Robin was giving him a terrible glare. Beast Boy gave the boy a toothy grin while Starfireremained passive. Speechlessly, the 'home wrecker' stared at the ground. Robin approached him like he was stalking prey, "My office, now."

The auburn-haired Titan stalked out the door and slammed it behind him. He knew he'd been caught and there wasn't any other way around it. With a heavy heart, Robin yanked the door open and followed after. Cyborg and Raven joined their teammate's sides.

"Alright, so we're all clear then?" Cyborg asked, looking at Starfire.

The orange-haired beauty nodded meekly, "I am sorry for the trouble."

"Aw that's so cute!" he replied giving her a hug.

"Yeah, that's the Starfire we know and love." Beast Boy added draping an arm around Raven. She gave the dense boy a pointed look as though to say 'I'm still irritated with you too so don't push your luck!' He grinned sheepishly at her, while she pulled away.

Scooting away from him a moment, "Glad to have you back." Starfire locked gazes with her friend, "But there's still a lot unsaid."

"Aw give the girl a break Rae." Cyborg said, giving the dark empath a look.

Raven sighed, "Very well-- but still--"

At this Starfire rushed to hug her friend, "I promise to be a better friend."

"You're fine the way you are," she said simply, "Just don't feel like you have to lie or fix things on your own."

Beast Boy and Cyborg stifled their laughter, "If that's not the pot calling the kettle black..." the half-metal Titan murmured.

Raven gave them a sidelong glare, "We should probably get ready for the meeting Beast Boy." He shrunk a bit at her words.

"Better get out before the lovebird's have another spat." Cyborg laughed making a break for the door while Raven glared daggers. Starfire hurriedly fled the room giggling as she went. The dark-haired empath shook her head dismissively, "Unbelievable."

_**Interestingly enough, Robin and I had the same general idea on getting Speedy back. We both agreed that it would be nice to get him back at his own game.**_

"Yeah," suddenly, like a ton of bricks he collapsed.

Raven sighed, and experimentally tested out her magic. A sputter of black danced off the side of her hand, _Okay, still not back yet…but I wonder… _She paused her current task to see if she could wield Biomorphicism. And sure enough a steady glow of blue and yellow encased her hand, _This isn't right…_she mused before deciding to worry about it later. She kneeled at his side, and dragged him a few steps before falling smack on her rear. Sorely, she whipped out her communicator, "Cyborg, Starfire, could one of you help me?"

A few minutes passed before the other Titans returned to Conference room. The dark-haired girl gave them each a passing look, "You two always have to make a scene-- you know I can't really run-- or at least I shouldn't."

"Quit being dramatic," Cyborg replied lifting Beast Boy up, while Starfire hovered nearby, "Now that I think about it, I should probably do a quick check-up on you two anyways."

Raven sighed, "Beast Boy's the idiot that jumped four stories. I'm pretty sure he's going to be sore, and exhausted."

Cyborg rolled his eyes, it was amazing how sweet and sour that girl could be, "I knew she'd be stubborn about check-ups. Alright Star, let's go."

"I know how to take care of myself." she coolly replied.

But Starfire picked her up despite her protests and followed her half-mechanical friend. Shortly after the four had entered the med bay, Beast Boy woke up again, "Well, that was weird." the green-eyed boy yawned.

_**So yeah, Cyborg decided that Rae and I just needed rest. But not 'til we finish this stupid meeting-- I know Raven quit telling me!**_

"I'm just saying." she retorted for what seemed to be the millionth time. Irately, he lolled his tongue out in a mocking fashion. She rolled her eyes again, "Do you think you'll be able to morph like we practiced?"

He took four of his fingers held them straight and let his thumb hide under his other fingers so that he could mimic a mouth speaking. He mocked her with no hesitation, "I swear!" she grumbled, before giving him a swift smack to the head.

"Ouch Raven!" he grumbled rubbing his sore spot, "Why'd you do that!?"

"Because you're being ridiculous." she snippilyreplied, "You jump off the Tower and nearly give me a heart attack, and then you go off telling me I'm important to you. You might as well have told me that it only rains on Sundays in May!"

Although he knew she wanted to yell at him, her voice was still weak, so she was left making her words sharp to get the point across, "Look, I'm sorry alright? Let's just get through this meeting and we can work it out later, okay?"

She looked away from him and kept walking towards the Conference room again. He sighed, and felt a tired pull constrain his body, "Wait Rae--"

"Don't call me Rae." she halted to look at him.

He yawned and walked a few more steps before he tipped over. She caught him by the arm, and hoisted him to her shoulder, "Don't fall asleep on me yet."

"Alright…" he half-murmured, _Pull it together man!_

Raven helped Beast Boy walk the last leg of distance and into the Conference room. His steps were uneven and shaking as he approached the table. She pulled out a chair and helped him sit. He laid his head gently on the table, "What cute lovebirds!" one of the boys remarked in a feminine voice. She shot the offender a glare as if daring him to make another comment.

The other Titan representatives then didn't breathe a word; merely staring in wonder. The dark-haired girl proceeded to shut the heavy metal doors, and turned to face her teammates once more, "Please remain as quiet as possible, my larynx has been damaged in our recent battle. And it's proving difficult to speak, let alone speak loudly." she paused to acknowledge their accordance, "As most of you have been informed, we have a serious new villain problem." She appeared tired—exhausted beyond belief—but she remained standing straight, tall, and poised, "Riona is a sorceress—much like me. We have different magic types, however. Do you all remember when Beast Boy was blinded about a month ago?"

"That woman with electric powers?" Hotspot provided.

"Yes that one--" she was interrupted by a tired groan. Sympathetically, she placed a hand on Beast Boy's back, feeling remorseful for smacking him earlier, "Her power is a terrible one, but I've been studying it. I have learned some of its uses, and I can heal those affected by it but only within a short timeframe. So in general, it's best if we all steer clear of her." She glanced down at Beast Boy again, rubbing a soothing circle into his back, "Are you ready?"

His tired, clouded green eyes stared sightlessly up at her, "I guess." He forced himself from his chair, and trotted awkwardly into clear view of the others.

"You looking a little tired there B. Having late nights already?" one of the boys asked with a suggestive connotation to it.

"It's the effect of Riona's power." He barked defiantly, before morphing into a horse releasing a neigh to display his aggravation.

Raven gave the others a stern glare, "This is not a joke. This is not playtime with Raven and Beast Boy."

The other Titan representatives looked toward one another; almost as though daring the other to test the dark heroine's patience once more. When no one offered another challenge, Raven proceeded with her demonstration. She muttered to herself, trying to remember how to angle her hand just right. A yellow steak cut across the horse's tail cutting about half of it off.

They all seemed to be watching with an idle distaste. However, once she re-grew his tail in a blinding blue flash, she reclaimed their attention at once. The other Titans gasped, unable to move their gazes from the sudden occurrence. She gave her teammates a confident look, before turning her attention to Beast Boy again, "Hair is easily grown back and would grow back over time. But what about a limb?" she waited for her assistant to walk back to the table again.

Once he had reached the table's side again, he cautiously crawled onto the table. He changed into a snake and sat up straight. The dark-haired girl cautiously let a steady glow of yellow case her hand, "This is not for the faint of heart, so please look away if you don't think you can handle it." She pointedly stared at Hotspot when she spoke. She fought back all of her internal conflict and severed about an inch of his tail off.

A loud hiss rose from him; he glanced back at her apologetic face. The other Titans stared in shock. She picked up his tail end and placed it near the rest of his body as blood began to drip onto the table. A crackle of blue electricity formed around her hand before it was channeled into his body. The snake let out a low hiss and tried to remain still. After a few minutes, the tail tip had been reattached seamlessly. The green boy resumed human form, leapt from the table and tried out his legs, "They're perfect." He announced, gracing Raven with his patented grin.

Applause crowded the room, "That's amazing, Raven!" Aqualad exclaimed.

She smiled and nodded, accepting his praise with a nod. Once the applause died down again she continued, "So in the future, please try to steer clear of her hands and any other kind of direct contact because it is fatal." She then continued to explain that contacting her immediately in case of an outbreak was key.

The Titan representatives filed out quickly; glad to finally be free of the dark-haired girl's wrath. She glanced down at her green-haired teammate, "You're tired. You should get some rest."

"I could tell you the same thing, but we both know neither one of us will listen." he grinned, "We're too stubborn."

She gave him a small smile, "I'm sorry I hit you. But you were being a pain."

"So that gives you the right to hit me?" he playfully asked, "It's alright, I was being a jerk."

She closed the distance between them, and helped him up, "You're limbs are still sore huh?"

"Yeah, just let me lean on you awhile." he grinned, before belting out, "Sooommeeboddy to leeeaan onnnnn!!"

"Immeasurably wise one moment completely childish the next-- are you sure you don't have a split personality?" she chided, while he pouted.

"That was mean, Rae."

She allowed him to lean his head against her shoulder as she led him from the Conference meeting. Limply, he draped his arm around her waist; he gently nuzzled his nose against her neck, "I'm glad I have you to take care of me." he spoke gently before his lips pressed tenderly against her exposed skin.

She shivered in response, "Don't do that." she hissed.

"Oh why not?" he gave her a mischievous look, "You're not ticklish or anything are you?"

He began repeating the action, phasing in a few nips as he went. She went frigid and tried to ignore the rising ticklish sensations that danced across her neck. Soon that became impossible once his nipping turned into kissing. Her face flushed brick red while she suppressed giggles, and she gave him a bashful shove, "Stop it." her voice holding virtually no resolve whatsoever.

His smile brushed against her neck, "I knew you liked it..."

"Get a room will ya?" total disgust and aggression tainted the newcomer's voice.

The pair turned to see (well Raven saw him, BB heard him : p) a disgruntled looking Speedy stalked down the hallway with suspension papers crumpled in his hand. Raven gave the boy a disappointed look as he walked by; leaning forward she whispered something into her companion's ear.

Beast Boy narrowed his eyes in the direction Speedy had just walked, "Hey Raven," he purposely spoke in an overloud voice, "You got something right there." he kissed her lips, and then whispered, "Did he look?"

She tore her gaze from him and stared at her auburn-haired teammate's aggravated expression; even his lip was twitching, threatening to curl into a snarl. Noisily he rounded the corner to be rid himself the presence of his teammates.

"That was kind of rude, Beast Boy." she admitted at last.

"He shouldn't have twisted the team around like he did."

"You mean like Terra?" her eyes focused clearly on him innocently.

It was like a nail had slapped him in the forehead, "That was different..."

"Sorry. I shouldn't have paralleled that." she replied, helping him lean against her shoulder once more, "Your limbs do seem to be getting better." she changed the subject.

"Yah, I guess they are." he meekly smiled, _Why did she have to bring Terra up?!_

_**So even though I was dog-tired, I wanted to make sure Raven got some sleep. So instead of going to separate rooms, I insisted on staying. Heh heh…**_

"Just stay on your side of the bed." she yawned, lying on the bed, "I hadn't realized how tired I am…"

"Yeah." he replied, "So, who's Altair anyway?"

She rolled over to face him, "A pain in the neck very much like you."

"Sheesh, can't you find an easier way to say 'I Love You', Raven?"

She rolled her eyes at his usual wit, "Let's just say, he's been adamantly explaining how much trouble I'm getting myself into these past two nights."

"How so?"

"Well…" she began, taking a deep breath before explaining her situation to him…

_I know what you're thinking, and nothing but pain will come from it..._

_Raven sat up straight in bed, clutching her fast beating heart, she wondered where all of those terrible thoughts were coming from, "Altair, I know you're there..." she said with little certainty glancing around her room._

_Don't make the same mistakes I did, young sorceress._

_She was about to ask the spirit to show himself again, but thought better of it. She crossed her room to retrieve her meditation mirror. Uttering her normal mantra, she vanished into her mirror. Glancing around her surroundings, she viewed it to be normal._

_Please, I know what I'm talking about._

_"Why do I keep hearing his voice if he's not here?" she pondered, "He must be hiding. But he can't hide here..." her eyes glowed white for a moment before all of her separate emotions appeared-- along with a green gryphon._

_She then understood why she was hearing his voice, he had been trying to reason with her logical, and knowledgeable side. The yellow clad emotion stared blankly at the ardently speaking gryphon. Altair sighed, "There truly is no reasoning with humans."_

_"Altair!" Raven snapped, "You better not be the reason I've been having such unsettled nights lately..."_

_He looked towards her before narrowing his eyes, "Don't blame me. It's not my fault your mate comes to visit every night."_

_Her eye twitched a moment, "I know you don't mean Beast Boy."_

_He gave her another pointed look as her emotions disappeared, "Yes, I'm the one who's been filling your head with these dreams. You have to know what you're getting into." _

_She narrowed her gaze at the obstinate ancient being, "I know. I would appreciate it greatly if everyone would stop 'looking out' for me. I know how dangerous this magic is."_

_Altair gave her a sorrowful, but accepting look, "I'll be watching you, young sorceress."_

He stared up at the ceiling as she spoke. Once she was finished speaking, he yawned widely again, "That's funny. He called me your mate."

"Shut up." she grumbled while he laughed.

When his laughter subsided, he glanced at his companion, "Actually, I've been meaning to ask you something."

Cautiously, she met his intent gaze, and as soon as she did, she felt like she would never be able to look away again, "Yes?"

_**I've finally decided what I want.**_

"I've really meant to talk to you about this a couple times." he grinned sheepishly, "But stuff kept happening." he rolled to lie on his side while she mimicked him. He took one of her hands into his own, "It's really important for me to be straightforward with you about things."

_**I finally know that I want her. I want to be with her.**_

"I don't think now is the best time to talk about this." she realized where he was going with the conversation, "We have to worry about Riona, and--"

He narrowed his gaze at her, "Why won't you let me talk to you for like five seconds? I need to get some things out in the open-- because I feel like I've lied to you-- and you won't even--"

_**Maybe not all the time-- : p **_

_**But you catch my drift...**_

"What could you have possible lied to me about?" she gave him a pointed stare, "Five seconds it is." her expression dipping into an emotionless one, almost as though nothing had changed between.

_**If she'll have me, that is...**_

He wanted to be angry with her, he wanted to growl and storm off at her normal display of inconsiderateness, but instead he decided to shock her with his own declaration, "I want you to be my girlfriend. Happy now?"

The feelings of pure shock that washed over her form was enough for him. He sat up, and decided that he'd wallowed enough on the subject. Her words stopped him from moving another centimeter, "It won't be the same for us, and you know it." her voice beyond quiet.

"Same like what?" he turned to face her, "Why are you so worried about what everyone else thinks? Do I embarrass you? Is that what this is? Because I don't know about you, but I'm not about to let other people come between me and my happiness."

A flinch flickered quickly across her face at his harsh words, "Happiness?" she echoed his word as though it was foreign to her.

"Yes, happiness." he gave her a pointed stare, "Like it or not-- you make me happy."

It was like a wall of defenses caved before his very eyes, "Really? I make you happy..."

"Every day." a small smile tore through his angry expression.

Hesitantly, she glanced at him and then the floor, and then the ceiling became very interesting to her as she seemed to be debating with herself, "Come here, would you?" she finally asked.

He narrowed his gaze, but crawled across the bed to be beside her again anyway. Once he was only a breath away from her, she threw her arms around his neck, "I'm sorry." Completely caught off guard by her sudden display of affection, he didn't even wrap his arms around her in return. She pulled away to look into his eyes, "Thank you for being patient with me. It's not--" her expression softened considerably, "It's not fair to you. I'm just..." his expression was unreadable; she was at a loss as how to continue. She couldn't feel an ounce of his emotions around her like she normally did-- there was nothing but his steady heartbeat flooding her senses.

She pulled back from him, "Well--" letting her gaze shift to the bed.

Suddenly, he reacted, a flood of emotion overtook her senses, "I'm listening." He pulled her into a comfortable embrace, "It's okay, go on..."

"You were so silent, I didn't know what to think." she admitted wrapping her arms around his midsection, "I'm afraid, if you can believe that."

He smirked, "Raven, afraid? Can those words even be used in a sentence together?"

She gave him a pointed look, but he just grinned at her. She exhaled deeply, "I just don't want to disappoint you. Relationships take time to nurture and form-- we're superheroes. Do we really have time for something that serious?"

"We'll have to make time for it someday. We're always going to be busy." he replied simply, "Just think about it Rae, I didn't expect you to answer right now anyway."

"So that's it then? Just fit it into the spaces between?" she sighed, "Well, I'll think about it. But really, I have to be alone, so I can deal with Altair, and other things." her voice was solid and strong but he could sense that she wasn't being one hundred percent truthful with him.

"You're making up excuses, Rae." he replied as he grinned at her in a knowing kind of way.

"What are you talking about?" her tone only laced with an edge of annoyance.

"Your voice always sounds the same when you're making excuses for things." he gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"What--"

He cut her short, "Look, I had an idea. And if you can convince Bat Boy for me, then--" she raised a brow as though to question (even though he couldn't see it) "I'd be in your debt forever." he dramatically added.

"So, tell me, what's this big idea of yours?"

"Convince Robin that we should have something of a beach barbeque tonight."

The girl paled a moment, rubbing her temples momentarily, "First of all, we still have life-threatening situations to worry about, i.e. Riona. Second of all, he'll never go for it. And I'll be there to back up his decision too."

"You're no fun Raven." he light-heartedly replied, "Think of it this way-- our last hoorah before we really have to track this pain in the neck down. I mean we almost died. Shouldn't we get to enjoy the fact that we're back?" she folded her arms at this, "The day is almost over when you think about it anyway. How much more could we possibly look up that we don't already know? She's been eluding us despite our best efforts to find her. For all we know she could be baseless."

"I doubt that. She has an army of mutants, and who knows what else. She has to be hiding somewhere. And on the off chance that we can't find her is something we'll have to risk."

"Please, Raven, a lot of our other teammates are here, and it wouldn't take long to grill some burgers. And Cyborg has been dying for an opportunity to use his new grill."

She sighed, but it was a deeper one, one of actual consideration, "I'll talk to him about it, but I can't promise you anything."

"Yes!!" he cheered, leaping off the bed in a single bound. He hit the ground feet first but ended up tipping over anyway. She groaned, but opted to help her companion up anyway.

_**Raven really is the best negotiator among us Titans. Heh, so we'veset up something of a BBQ. Nothing fancy, but hey, I'm just happy to be alive. **_

_**And in this business, you never know what's going to happen next...**_

Meanwhile, as the Titans relished their newfound time together. A couple pairs of eyes were watching them from afar with a malicious intent, "But why, Highness, should we not be attacking them now as they frolic so mindlessly on the beach?" a wolf-like being growled to his companion.

The yellow-haired sorceress glanced vehemently at the wolf as she stood on her rocky perch, "Patience, Dieter, you'll have your fill of fighting soon enough." she shifted her weight as she stood on the small rocky island that gave her a nice view of her adversaries.

"Please forgive my impudence, Highness, but we've been watching them for weeks, what more could we possibly hope to learn about these so called Titans?"

"A lot!" she snapped at her partner, "When we attacked them a week ago, those two-- the green one, and the dark-haired girl-- should've been dead." a huff of aggravation passed her lips, "I know I intended to finish them all off eventually, but somehow, that young witch has been able to overcome my powers. And I can't break myself to attack them again until I figure out what's making them immune."

Dieter narrowed his golden eyes at his master, before shifting them towards the faraway bayside, "It is strange." he admitted evenly, "But even if you do find out, will you still kill them? After all, it might proveuseful to keep them alive. For antidotes or something."

She contemplated his words carefully before replying confidently, "Raven may be of some use to me-- and her green friend-- Beast Boy I think it is-- he could prove quite valuable as well, but despite the other's strengths, I am not interested in them."

"From what you've told me, they all sound like worthy additions to our cause." a sly expression crept upon his features in the form of a toothy grin.

"Yes, but they can't all be manipulated the same way." she replied, but truthfully it sounded like she was thinking out loud rather than contributing to the conversation, "Well, no matter," she glanced at Dieter again, "let them have their fun tonight. I've made up my mind--you're right Dieter-- we've learned all we need to know."

"Thank you Highness." he half-grinned with a wry look still bemusing his face.

"Tomorrow we strike at dawn."

His grey fur rippled in excitement, "Finally…" his claws scraping across the sea rocks in a display of raw elation.

Beast Boy approached Raven while she spoke to Starfire, and some of the other Titan girls. He waited until she finished speaking before he made his presence known, "Hey ladies, can I speak to Rae a min?"

They filed away giggling and making "wild" lovebird-like accusations, "I swear," Raven grumbled, "You should've heard them when they all thought I loved Robin. Coo here, sigh there-- constantly pulling me aside. Even Starfire wanted to kill me for my apparent 'affections'."

He tugged his collar, "Really? You never loved him?"

Glaring at him hotly, "Not you too! Of course I love him." he stared at her, and according to her empathic nature, she could tell that his expression would be a perturbed one if his eyes weren't clouded over, "He's my best friend, my brother even. I would appreciate not being interrogated about my emotional preferences, thank you." he still wore a perturbed expression so she groaned again, "This was what I was talking about. What's the big deal if I care about someone? We all do-- I guess because I've never been able to express my feelings, they think I shouldn't have them."

_**Wow, that came out of nowhere. Hehe…maybe I should use 'lol'…?**_

"I believe ya, Rae. Sorry. Anyway," he swallowed all of his awkward tremors, "I just wanted to say thanks again. It's been fun seeing everyone again, and well, knowing that tomorrow the work starts again, it just makes it all the more important."

"You're welcome, we all need breaks though and I'm glad you're here to remind me of that." she smiled softly, before taking his hand.

He smiled and pulled her into a tight embrace, "Of course, Turtledove, but where do you think Riona is anyway?"

"Who knows?" she sighed, "She could be watching us right now and we would be none the wiser."

"So true, but I'd rather not worry about that right now." he remarked as the sun fell below the skyline and the first stars came wandering across the pale purple and peach expanse, "Let's talk about something more important, like stars falling."

She half-laughed while shaking her head, "I don't know about that, ice cream flavors are pretty important too."

"Alright so I'm not as witty as you. I get it already." he stuck his tongue out as she smiled at him in a cat-like manner.

_**Well, not much else for me to say. We had fun, we have to get back to work tomorrow, and well life's mostly good right now…**_

_**-B.B.**_

_**

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Next update soon. So can anyone tell me what the name meanings of Altair, Riona, and Dieter have in common with the character they belong too?

I'll give everyone who answers correctly an imaginary brownie. :D

Wysti


	18. December 18th

Sorry once again for this taking so long. teardrops. I'm hitting a major writer's block. It took every ounce of creativity for me to finish writting this chapter.

Also, I know I was a bit cryptic on what I meant by relation. Sorry about that-- it must be the writer in me. :p What I wanted was their name meanings in relation to their character. Like Altair means "the flyer" in Arabic so it makes sense because gryphons can fly. Riona means "queen-like", but it's also derived from an old greek word that means "torture" which I thought was befitting of her. And Dieter means "warrior of the people" which I thought would be a nice tie-in to the fact that he commands Riona'sanimal army, but he also fights with them, and they are his 'kind' so to speak.

Anyway paula2284 got the question right so imaginary brownie for you. ;D

**8/17 EDIT:** Some people were saying that keeping up with the shifts in characters was hard to follow, so I made the last word and the string of dots **bold** to denote the end of a part. Line breaks are messy. :p

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

acosta perez jose ramiro: Review much appreciated as usual. ;)

Mr. Average: Thanks for reviewing. :)

SxStrngSamurai13: Thank you, as usual.

Raven'sWinterRaine: Thanks again. I will try to be more diligent in the future about updating quicker, but to put it bluntly-- writer's block is a bitch. x.x

titanfan45: I don't know about that, Robin's pretty sneaky...

Akki Rei: Thanks you very much. That's very kind of you to say. And maybe another chapter will keep it bearable. ;)

too many stars to count:Thanks for your lovely review. :) And I don't know if I PMed you about that 'blindness' thing or not, but I did forget about his situation a few times while I was writing it, so my apologies. But he could sense people's emotions like he's mentioned a few times before.

Ikasury:Your reviews always make me laugh soooohard. Like I'm sitting here giggling to myself while getting odd stares from the people around me, but I don't care. You do bring up a good point, Raven shouldn't use her boy-toy as experimental test subject. But really, it was because BB wouldn't let her use anything else remotely live. And they do seem very back and forth, and it's confusing and difficult, I know. It's just to me they wouldn't just fall into place all nice like, Raven tends to fight change if you ask me. And BB has done that from time to time too, but really, it's tiring, but I used to know a pair of people who would act like that. Crazy-in-love with each other one week, argh-leave-me-be the next week. It was pretty amusing after awhile though. (And it doesn't feel normal to me if they don't argue a little. They don't go straight from arguing all the time to not arguing at all. lol.)

Wolvmbm: Ah sorry no brownie for you. :'( But I'm glad you reviewed! Thanks! :D

C DeMikols: Thank you very much for your wonderful review. :) I know his ailment kinda jumped back and forth there. I went back and editted it. I'd forgotten about his blindness because I wrote some of this before I knew what was going to happen exactly. Beast Boy normally doesn't ever seem to care about life threatening things eh-- at least concerning himself. (a.k.a. he was being all 'worried' about irritating Raven instead) :p

RabulaTasa: Ah thanks, my bad. :)

myrthill: Ah, BB will be BB afterall, he wasn't too concerned about not being able to see (i.e. using Raven as a shoulder rest lol).

paula2284: Thank you so much for your three awesome reviews. And I'm glad you like it so much.

_**Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots... Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'**_

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic_ thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

Hopefully that'll keep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

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**Explain This to Me**

_**December 18th 2007 4:03:23 am**_

_**So to put it shortly, in total, Raven and I have been very up and down, back and forth. So confusingly aggravating…**_

A quiet creaking whistled outside of the green-haired boy's room. Tentatively he adverted his gaze towards the pale gray door. His ears flicked in response to the sensitive vibrations that reverberated off of the metal door. Even though his sight had returned late that night (he had decided to stay up and finish logging the events of the past few days on his computer) his mind and reactions had been altered into a more animal like set of reflexes.

He still hadn't returned to his habit of relying completely on his sense of sight yet. But it was unnerving being able to sense so much-- the young boy was pretty sure that he wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway-- he could hear every sound, feel every hair's breath of wind on his cheeks (apparently there was a crack in the window he hadn't noticed before). And quite frankly, lack of sleep made his senses wheel-- like a defense mechanism used in the wild.

_It's nothing,_ he assured himself as he returned his tired gaze to the computer, _Just gotta finish this last page and then I'll be caught up._

Another eerie rattle shook his door, his eyes locked in place on the offending piece of silver colored wall. But when his gaze refocused he couldn't see the door moving, or any trace of a light shiver through the entryway barricade. He grumbled to himself about being paranoid, and decided that he needed to try to get some sleep before the 'Quest to Find Riona' began again.

_**I told the others that we should nickname the operation, Taking Down Riambo.**_

_**But they all shot it down of course… : p**_

With a wide yawn, the boy rose from his chair and clicked the monitor screen off. He yawned again before another ripple of sound splashed against his eardrums. He narrowed his gaze at irritating scrap of steel that he passed off as a door, _I'll put a stop to this._ he meandered towards the door, and whipped it open. He poked his head into the hallway, and gazed down it one way, and then the other. Swiveling his ears, he hoped to catch another passing sound. A light echo bounced off the walls, _Something's not right, and I'm about to find out what…_

Stealthily, the emerald-eyed changeling crept from the confines of his room and into the dim hallway. His newly restored eyes narrowed to cat-like slits for a moment before they stretched almost as wide as his iris-- a small glimmering rim of green was the only trace left-- allowing him to see in the dark hallway, _Something's not right, Cyborg never leaves the lights on so dim..._

Changing into a nocturnal animal never crossed his mind as he walked cautiously down the hallway. The sound of light footsteps met his ears-- or were they paw steps? Not many of the Titans were aware of how much noise their shoes made-- even if they were trying to be quiet. He strained his ears a little to see if he could pick up on a faint rustling of fur against the carpet-- he wasn't under the impression that an animal would try to break into the Tower-- of course-- it was then that his mind was reminded with the Titans current threat; Riona, _That's right. She had ghost-like animals following her around...What if she sent them here?!_

Angry and upset, he approached the hallway's end corner at which the sounds were coming from-- rational preparatory thought thrown aside-- a vicious green tiger cut around the corner to snarl at his enemy. A glow of green whistled by his ear, "Starfire?" he asked as he resumed human form.

"Oh it is you, Friend." she replied with relief.

"I thought you were an intruder-- what are you doing wandering in the dark?"

"Not to be rude, but I wasn't." she glanced behind her as though the walls might jump and catch her, "I heard noises so I wished to not give myself away."

"You couldn't sleep, could you?" he asked earnestly, with a sympathetic smile gracing his face.

_**She's worried about Robin.**_

"I'm worried about...Robin. I know he has every reason not to trust me, but I--"

A metal pan clanked in the distance-- it was only a whisper to the young boy, his companion was deaf to it and continued speaking, "I just wish things had not become so-- complicated."

"Wait Star," he cut in, straining his ears to try and pick up on the sounds once more, "I think I hear something, or someone."

_**Even though I hated being blind, in the long run, it was helpful. It reminded me of all the other sharper than average senses I've had ever since I was young...**_

Patiently, she waited for her companion's deduction of the situation. She passed a few wary glances at her surroundings. He sighed, "I think I heard someone drop a pan in the kitchen, but it's probably just Cy, or Robin. Cy because he gets hungry, and Robin because he hates sleeping." the boy chuckled.

She gave him a half-smile, "Perhaps." her breath hitched, "I know that now is probably not the best time to speak of such things, but I really must say, I have never made such a big mistake before. I do not know why I--" her voice broke apart from her words.

He warranted her another half-hearted smile, "I don't know what to tell you. Just keep working at it I guess. If it really means that much to you."

"It does!" she suddenly exclaimed, forgetting the fact that someone may have broken into the Tower and remaining quiet was important.

"I thought heard voices down here." a calm voice with a wry twist stated as a figure rounded the corner still in the cover of shadow, "You should be more quiet for your companions' sake-- you wouldn't want them to worry, would you?" a crackle of lightning hit the floor and dissipated.

The alien and changeling assumed a fighter stance, "Show yourself!" Starfire demanded.

He opened his mouth to speak and a familiar scent hit his senses, "Raven? Is that you?"

She wandered into the light, "You two picked a strange time to talk about emotional trauma."

"We thought you were Riona." Starfirebreathed relief, "Scaring us with the electricity-- shame on you." she tried to giggle but it sounded forced-- especially considering the empty stare the dark-haired girl was giving her. Raven still hadn't exactly warmed back up to Starfire.

"Although it was a good way to get my point across," she raised her hands still cased in a gentle (if anything about this power can be considered 'gentle') glow, "I can't seem to get it to shut off. I've been up all night trying to figure it out." she explained gloomily.

"Hm," Starfire replied (it was the only thing that came to mind).

"But now that I've found you out here, wandering in the hallway," she gave them both an even look, "What are you really doing?"

"I could not sleep," the redhead answered (Beast Boy seemed uninterested in their conversation as though something else had captured his attention), "so I decided to walk it off. But I ran into Beast Boy, and he says that he thinks he hears someone in the Tower." the girl sighed, "Even Cyborg has left the lights dimmed darker than usual."

The dark-haired girl glanced up at the fuzzy wall lights, "I see. We should take a look around then, but may I havea word with Beast Boy first?" Starfire nodded at once and began retreating down the hallway Raven had been in only a few minutes ago.

His ears twitched in recognition of her words but he wasn't really listening until she asked to be alone with him. The red-haired beauty turned away from her companions in favor of walking another hallway route. It took Raven a few tries before she had her companion's attention, "What's got you so distracted?"

"I don't know." he answered, "There's just something off about the Tower. And I--" a wide yawn cut through his sentence, "I've been up all night...writing."

_**Many of the Titans are under the impression that I'm lazy-- or that I stay up too late-- because I have the tendency to sleep a lot more than they do. I get to hear about it every training session-- Batboy thinks I forget or something. :p**_

She nodded and said nothing as they continued walking down the hallway. He warily walked down the hallway still convinced that something was amiss.

_**But really, if I don't get enough sleep, and my senses should be drowsy-- but they sharpen so much I look panicked, distressed even. My eyes dilate, and I can practically hear every little godforsaken sound. It's a blessing and a curse. It's only happened a few times before, but I think it might happen again now. **_

_**I knew I shouldn't have been up all night. :p**_

Her newfoundwords cut through his anxious state as they approached the hallway's end, "Often times, I feel myself being pulled," she breathed evenly, as he focused his gaze on her form, "in opposite directions." cautiously she put her fingertips on the edge of the hallway's wall corner as she peered around it, "And you," she glanced at her green eyed companion again, "You keep pushing me so far away from all that I know." her eyes clear unwavering amethyst orbs as she seemed to charge him with her own indecisiveness.

It took him a few moments before the weight of her words hit him, "I haven't made you do anything you didn't already want to do." he narrowed his gaze, "You can't--"

"I just want you to see where I'm coming from-- that's all." her eyes closing gently before she re-focused her gaze on one of the many hallways in question, "You've been patient so far-- what's a little more time then?"

_**Honestly, I was hoping that she wouldn't take ten steps back again. But people don't change overnight after all-- even if it's been more like a month now… And I'm thinking I shouldn't worry about it-- for now...**_

_**Just give her some space to work her mind out and back off a bit...**_

"You're right Raven." he breathed out, "What's a few more hours, or days? Or weeks for that matter?"

She was about to barb him with a sharp retort but he raised a hand in a non threatening manner, "I'm not being snide Raven, that's your job, remember?"

She narrowed her gaze at him but a loud crash reclaimed her attention to the matter at hand and kept any more argument from arising. The pair stealthily peeked around the corner, "Nothing is there." she whispered to him keeping her eyes focused on the hallway before her.

"Yes, there is." his eyes wide with alarm, he pulled her back from the edge in a swift motion that sent them tumbling backwards. A hot blast of energy screeched down the hallway where they had once been peering.

She pushed her weight off of him, "How did you see that? What was it?"

He pushed himself off the ground, "Something bad-- and I didn't see it-- I heard it. Just like before, when I avoided the lightning."

She just nodded not fully dabbling in the thought as she returned her attention to the matter at hand, "Then what do we do?"

"Run!" he suddenly yelped, dragging her along with him as raw heat blazed down the hallway behind them like a roll of thunder before a storm. They skidded around the corner, "We need to tell the others." he said at once pulling out his communicator.

A sudden weight slammed into them from behind that left the two Titans floundering for their bearings. Raven dusted herself off, and glanced behind her to see Beast Boy tumbling in a fight with a large grey wolf, _The one from before…_ she realized at once and finished what her companion had started, "Raven calling Titans. We're under attack." it was all she had time for however, as spurt of lightning whirled past her hand knocking her communicator far away. She raised her gaze warily.

"My my, your defense system was easy to break into." a wry voice spoke. The yellow-clad villainess emerged from the darkness and into full view of her adversaries, "Are you that confident in your abilities that you didn't think anyone could break in?" she sounded completely apathetic, "I don't think your little friends will be coming to your rescue any time soon."

"I don't need rescuing." she flatly replied.

_**Damn this brute is heavy… x.x**_

Beast Boy struggled under the wolf's weight wondering why the beast hadn't broken him in half yet. The young boy's fingers gripped into the wolf's fur as he desperately tried to morph into something that would aide his efforts, but the stubborn wolf wouldn't give him any kind of edge-- viciously snapping and keeping the boy pinned however he could. It then clicked in the Titan's mind that her order hadn't been to kill, but to subdue him-- get him out of the way so that he couldn't interfere with Riona's plans like he had before.

So that she could fight Raven by herself-- but that also meant that he was still relevant to this somehow. Finally a hair's width of space presented itself, he morphed into flea and clung to the wolf's long arm fur as the beast drew his arm back for another swipe. The wolf, Dieter (Beast Boy hadn't known his name, but for confusion's sake), scanned the area for his prey, and quickly re-found the green nuisance in the form of a grizzly bear.

Despite the normal proportions of animals, the bear was only equal in size to the mutant wolf, and not larger. The green animal reared up on his hind paws. He swiped furiously at the slate colored intruder. Dieter dodged left, and then right, but wasn't so fortunate when it came to dodging the bear's uppercut. In a bumbling mass of fur, the creature tumbled head over heels into the wall. The boy relapsed into his human form huffing and winded from the stressful confrontation. He clenched his fists before glancing to where the two sorceresses had been standing. They had gone. The wolf-like being pushed himself from the ground in a quick thrust. Slamming into Beast Boy once more, he snarled at the boy, "You can't win. Just give up while you're ahead."

"Don't tell me what I can't do." he muttered threateningly under his breath. A wave of aggression fraught with inner turmoil claimed the boy-- turning into the Beast seemed to be the only upper hand he had **left…**

Despite Cyborg's best efforts, he hadn't been able to escape his room. The terrible mismatched animals had boxed the resident Titan in. A prisoner of his own room-- how ironic. He clenched his fists as a sense of futility overtook him, _How am I supposed to generate an electric charge when I can't even move? _He took every breath gingerly as the empty-eyed beasts stared at him almost challenging him to make a move, to take a step, to even so much as sneeze. A week ago these little beasties hadn't posed much of a challenge; brashly and stupidly charging into his solid metal armor and tumbling off with head concussions that left them whining senselessly or some cases, completely senseless.

He had to admit that once he had awoke to their defiant cries, his first instinct was to blast them to Kingdom Come with his Sonic Cannon. Instead, he spared them such brash treatment in favor of leaping from his bed and purposely tumbling into their ebbing mass. Hisses and wheezes escaped the unnatural animal mutants, and before Cyborg could even so much as flinch, a mass of the creatures retched a piping acid that had indeed burned a hole through the metal in his floor. Needless to say, their ability to persuade was top-notch. While the Cyborg was distracted with this fact, one of the raccoon-looking mutants defiantly bounded onto the back-up security panel that was located in his room, and began pounding into the control panel until the lights flickered, dimmed, disappeared, and flashed erratically. An electric spark sent the pest flying and the lights slowly returned to their reduced amount; a cool dim in the likeness of fireflies.

Cyborg breathed relief that none of the other creatures seemed to take the initiative to do anything other than stare mindlessly at their prey. He wondered, quickly though, if he had any chance of bolting past the mindless apparition-like beings without being injured. After all, he wasn't made of that cheep iron-slate metal combination that the Tower was made of-- he was made of something quite stronger, but he wondered if it would be enough to stand up to the acid? _If I could just do a diagnostic test on a small amount…_

He glanced at where the troublesome raccoon had been sitting and wondered if maybe, just maybe getting the lighting to die, or causing a massive short circuit would be enough to give him time to get away. One of the cougar-like intruders bared it's teeth at the Titan and began stalking towards him, _Alright, Cyborg, I have to do something now, and something quick…_ Frantically his eyes searched for any alternative solution to his problem. His gaze re-focused on the switchboard, and even though his heart was beating out of his chest, he dove for the panel and slammed his fist onto the emergency power-down switch. The animals were too shocked to move but a heartbeat later, by then they were too late. The power whined through the building like a tidal wave. The lights abruptly shut off and the sounds of a struggle were heard **throughout…**

The redhead turned on her heel to glance behind her again-- my how she _hated_ the dark. A glimmering green flicker encircled her hand. Warily, she surveyed her surroundings. She had hoped that Raven and Beast Boy would've been more specific when they had given the distress call. She was in the process of finding her lost friends. She hadn't had much luck in tracking down her two friends, and what was worse, is that neither Robin, nor Cyborg were answering her transmissions. She felt lost and confused in her own home. Thankfully, she hadn't run into anything unusual since she had begun walking the hallway but once the lights had shut off like they had, she knew that it was only a matter of time before she ran into trouble her self.

Her first instinct had been to help Cyborg. She knew that his room held the only emergency power-off switch (everyone had agreed that it would be stupid to have it in the control room because it wasn't always guarded like the mechanical Titan's room was), and that who ever had infiltrated the Tower was there. She knew Cyborg could defend himself pretty well, however, she did worry about him, and knew that they could all use help every once in awhile. Helplessness hit her a moment as she rounded another empty corner, _I mustn't fret. Worry only makes things worse…How I wish I could find Robin!_

A quiet rustling met her ears, and a pair of bright eyes met her gaze, penetrating the darkness, "Beast Boy?" she inquired noticing that they were a bright green hue.

A snort of amusement escaped the beast that came into view. The creature was a lithely built panther with glimmering white fangs. It's long black tail dragging the ground and thrashing as it approached it's prey. Starfirewas only slightly startled by the creature's sudden appearance. She readied her star bolts, prepared to attack, and the startling realization dawned upon her-- this wasn't a ghostly panther-- but a real live panther under some sort of spell. The beast's claws glimmered silver in the emerald glow of his foe's power.

He leapt forward, and in a single bound, the green glow **disappeared…**

Another pan clanged to the floor, and then another making a reverberating ruckus that could be heard throughout the Tower. But they wouldn't come, he knew they wouldn't come to help him-- he should be the one helping them anyway. He mentally cursed himself as his opponent cuffed him over his head. He tumbled backwards, but worked his blunder into an advantage; he let himself roll into the cabinets before using his weight to push off of them. With his staff raised, he came barreling towards his opponent once more. Another creature intercepted his turnaround and sent him floundered to the ground again.

Normally Robin was a graceful fighter. Strong, lithe, and every so formidable, but as another yawn cut through his consciousness he knew too well that he was exhausted. All of his teammates always surmised that Robin didn't really care for sleep, and that he preferred to wander the streets at night like his younger days. But really, he just had a bad case of insomnia. Eventually, he'd got used to just taking cat naps throughout the day. But his cat nap was long overdue now. The beast just seemed to keep coming at him with no end in sight. However, as another beast lashed out at him all he could think about was-- _I'm glad Raven's so stubborn. _If she hadn't have healed him in the hospital, he'd probably still be there while his Tower was overrun with vermin.

_Damn…_ he growled to himself as they crowded the kitchen with their ugly pelts glowing in the moon's fading light. He had to get past this and find the others. _Damn, this is frustrating. _he reiterated as he made for the stairs. It was no use fighting them in such tired conditions. And despite his insomnia, it wasn't the only reason he'd been up late last night…

"_Don't do this Robin." she tugged on his arm, her eyes pleading with him._

"_Don't tell me what to do." he shrugged her hand away, "He deserves this, and you know it."_

"_He doesn't deserve anything, rather." she blinked her calm gaze at him, "I thought we had agreed, as a team, to leave it alone. People make mistakes Robin."_

"_He didn't make a mistake. It was very much intentional." he narrowed his gaze at her, "Besides, it's not like he can't fight back."_

_She sighed and allowed her leader to go. Encircling herself within her cloak, she exited the opposite way she had come. Even though she hated turning a blind eye to something that was clearly wrong, she didn't know what else she could do, interfering would only intensify the situation. She revealed her glowing hands to the night air, "What am I going to do about this?"_

_Robin turned the hallway corner and walked into the weight and training room. He yanked the door open with little regard for what lay on the other side. He narrowed his gaze at his auburn-haired opponent, but no words came to him mind as he approached the arrogant boy. _

_Speedy grinned, "Heya, still think you're up to it?"_

_There were no words that would form; his lips were dry. The orange-haired boy didn't even flinch as Robin's fist collided into his jaw. The archer fell backwards with an angry grunt. Rubbing his jaw sorely, "So that's how it's going to be eh?" he muttered more to himself._

_He leapt to his feet throwing punches and missing his opponent over and over again. Robin twisted out of his rival's reach again, before landing another blow to his cheek. Speedy only faltered a step before he managed to cuff Robin on his cheekbone. The boy went tumbling backwards. The orange-haired boy wasn't a coward, but he wasn't stupid either. He wasn't about to let Robin mussel up his pretty face. It wasn't a matter of winning at all, for he knew that fighting Robin would be something to brag about later. But it was also a matter of not fighting Robin in such a state, he was too focused and angry-- Speedy knew it's be a long shot for him to win-- no pun intended._

_Using the few evasive skills he had, he managed to back away from his teammate long enough to get to the door and get lost. Robin had only barely missed the archer by a hair's breath on his last swipe. He let himself drop to his knees, Winning by default isn't good enough…_

_He slammed a fist into the training mat, a stale tear of frustration streaked down his cheek. He spent the next few hours beating his fists into a punching bag and cursing himself for driving his true love away and being blind to the other man that helped it along…_

Once he'd made his way far enough from the kitchen, he attempted to communicate with his teammates again, "Robin calling Titans." the lights flickered back on as he shifted his gaze, unfortunately, the lighting was still **dim…**

A vicious snarl cut the air. A swift uppercut left the panther sprawled on the cold metal floor. Huffing, the orange-haired princess peered down at the animal, _I hope I didn't kill it…_ She placed a fist over her mouth nervously, and heard her communicator beep. She flipped it out, "Robin!" she exclaimed at once.

"Starfire, where are the others? We're overrun!" he tried to sound calm but his anxiety still soaked through his words.

"I do not know, but I have a good idea as to where Raven might be." she murmured, as she let a tooth graze her fist in **nervousness…**

A fresh tension crackled between the two opposing forces as they stood on the Tower's rooftop. The dark-haired girl hadn't a clue as to why this troublesome being insisted on being as cryptic as possible. It was obvious that the woman had intentions of killing them all off-- but what were her future plans? What did she intend on doing _after_ she'd eliminated them? _Of course that would never happen… _Raven assured herself while hiding the ominous glow that cased her hands. A cool whistle of wind whipped by as storm clouds began to gather overhead.

"It's quite entertaining to me, looking at you now," she finally spoke, "A little girl is able to writhe from my touch of death." Raven said nothing, so she continued, "My comrade, Dieter-- the wolf that's so ready to soil his hands in human blood-- suggested to me that we make you one of our own. A proposition, if you will, for you to come with us to spare the lives of your friends."

Raven's nerves tightened, she felt completely unable to move. Riona let out a sadistic laugh, "As if I'd really be that stupid. How droll. Everyone knows that eventually you'd turn your back on me. That somehow, you would become like me. You've already resigned yourself to my power, after all."

"Quit babbling. Get to the point." she demanded, assuming a fighter's stance. She wouldn't let herself be swayed by her idle personal attacks.

"However, there's a snag in all of this…" she trailed **off…**

_There is another way. Another form that can bring you to where you need to be…_ the voice seemed odd to him but as he felt his body start to cave under the massive wolf's weight; he wouldn't mind a way out at all. Dieter was seamless in his assault, giving the boy little time to react or dodge. How could he be so fast? And then he realized, _I shouldn't be using my sight but my hearing-- probably. It's worth a shot…_

Closing his eyes, he tuned his ears to the sounds of his fist flying past his form. He finally managed to half-dodge a blow and tumble underneath the wolf in armadillo form. Unfurling himself, he shifted his form into a rabbit. Bounding down the hallway with the crazed lupine hot on his tail. Although the rabbit would never be faster than the wolf distance wise, he was smaller and able to dodge his giant paws more quickly and with less effort. He was too tired to rear up into a bigger animal anyway. And now that he was away from his attacker, he needed to stay away, _I have to get to the others._

The toes in his thick-furred paws began to ache as he hit the metal flooring ceaselessly. It was like slamming his fist into the side of a fast moving truck over and over again. But he couldn't, and wouldn't stop until he'd found the others. He needed back up some serious back up, _Yipe!_ his mind seemed to echo as another paw came dangerously close to hitting his head. The lithe green herbivore was well aware that a single blow to his head would be enough to knock him out cold. In one last attempt to get away from his opponent, he skidded right, let his paws slip left, and rolled around the corner.

Dieter had barely cleared the corner before he was knocked down by a channeled blue blast. The oversizedwolf's body contorted into a strange pretzel-like shape as he hit the ground in an awkward lurch. The green rabbit returned to human form breathing heavily, "Thanks Cyborg," he sucked in a deep breath, "I thought I was a goner for sure."

"No problem, B. But we have a bigger problem on our hands."

"You don't have to tell me about it-- I've lived it." he rubbed his neck sorely.

Cyborg took a moment to look at his damaged communicator pad, "Where's your communicator? Call the others."

"It's no use-- we keep calling each other at bad times. She deliberately set this up to keep us separated long enough for her to get to Raven."

Dieter growled to himself as he pushed his weight from the floor. He shook his head to free it from the ringing he heard in his ears. His sensitive ears flopped about for a moment, before he turned a terrible glare onto his prey. He bared his pointy fangs to the pair, but they merely bolted the other way. He climbed upon his knuckles for a moment, and took a deep breath, before chasing after them.

"Why are we running Cyborg?" the changeling asked, trying to keep pace with his half-mechanical friend, "And what happened to your arm?"

"We're running because even if we're strong enough to take on that mutant, we can't take them all on. And my arm," he sighed, "was damaged by some acid spitting animals. I didn't think it would be strong enough to melt it like they melted the floor."

_**So that's why the power kept flickering off…**_

"Contact the others B, we don't have time to waste!" he turned around a few seconds to fire his sonic cannon at the beast. The hot blast scraped past his shoulder hacking some of the thick fur off, but he seemed unfazed despite this and continued running after them. Cyborg and Beast Boy finally made it to the kitchen area, but kept running upon seeing the horde of animals that filled the common room.

"We have to get to the roof, it's probably the only place unaffected by these monsters."

Dieter paused a moment, rising onto two legs like he normally walked, he glared down at his army, "Don't just sit there. Go after them!" he fell to four paws again and thundered down the hallway trying to catch up. The animals shared empty gazes before taking up the stairs at a much slower pace. Cyborg jerked to a stop momentarily, Beast Boy glanced at his companion, "I'll catch up in a minute." he glanced towards the wall on his right, _I've been meaning to test out my new security enhancements. _He punched a place in the wall and a keypad sifted out. He began punching in numbers, rapidly trying to outdo the swiftly approaching wolf. He punched in the last number as Dieter skidded right past him. Cyborg quickly ducked out of the way of his foe's massive paws, and took off down the hallway. The wolf glanced behind where he'd just come from and saw a glaringly bright red crosshair fence formed dividing the hallway into two. The ghost-like animals finally caught up and ignored the obstruction completely.

A few walked into the lasers and dissipated in a fizzling shock, "Halt." he commanded, "Stay here, we'll come back for you." and with that he took after his prey once **more…**

"Robin," she spoke quietly as they walked down the hallway together, he glanced back at her, she tugged his arm, "What happened to your face?" he stopped walking at once, she took his face into her palms, "It's swollen." she murmured sadly.

"It's nothing." he replied evenly, but didn't try to pull away, "We should try and get to the roof-- after all-- it's where we're supposed to meet in situations like these."

One of her thumbs traced his cheekbone where the edge of a bruise was forming. She didn't want to release her grasp, but she let her hands drop to her sides anyway. How could he forgive her anyway? After what she'd put him through, she knew it'd probably never be the same between them. Would he propose again? Or did the offer still stand? Even then, she wasn't sure she was ready for that. However, she couldn't deny what she felt for the dark-haired boy, even from the day they'd first **met…**

"I don't see how that's my problem." Raven replied coldly, "You need to quit causing trouble for the city. Recede your claim on this Tower and go home." a sparkle of lightning flashed down her hands as though to prove her point (another unconscious whim of the power in reflection of her emotions she decided).

"You really can't turn it off can you?" every word seemed to laugh at the girl, "If you want to be cured of that curse, you let me know. I'll cut you a deal."

"I can hardly see why I'd need your help at all." thunder rumbled in the distance, "I can take care of myself."

"Can you?" she replied in an empty voice.

Her words were cut short as Cyborg burst open a door on one side of the roof, and Robin and Starfireopened another door on the other side of the roof simultaneously. The three Titans joined Raven's side at once all mirroring her aggressive stance. Beast Boy was caught in the hallway, rubbing his aching temple, _That voice. What is it? What is it trying to tell me?_

Despite Robin's reservations about rushing in and attacking the dangerous sorceress, he gave the order anyway. All four of them rushed at her at once, she took a few bounds back. A bit of fear in her eyes, she remembered what had happened before when all of the Titans had attacked her at once. As calm as night, a complete juxtapose to the stormy sky's demeanor, five figures landed behind the Titans. The figures stood as one and walked into the shifting light of the passing clouds.

The Titans East looked none too pleased to have such an early summons, but they all prepared their weapons just the same. Rionaseemed to cower a bit despite her normal arrogant nature. A breath escaped her, before she finally attacked the teenagers. She lunged forward scattering lightning everywhere as she came closer and closer. And as the lighting rushed towards the younger super humans, they seemed to all dodge it a graceful bound before launching attacks of their own.

Water splayed across the tower floor and crashed down upon the sorceress and soaked her to the bone, making the use of lightning it potent for it's user temporarily. She was able to fend off some of Robin's birdarangs, dodge some of Starfire's star bolts, but the truthof the matter was that she was outmatched, and out numbered. A loud roar could be heard behind the Titans. A few of them turned only long enough to be pushed down by the massive wolf that was Dieter. He trampled forward and stood between his master and her adversaries. A threatening snarl passed his lips, "Try that again, vermin." his claws scraped the metal leaving hot score marks burned into its frame.

Bumblebee glanced at the other Titans, and then her respective teammates in turn. A plan formed behind their eyes. Half of the nine crept toward the wolf's right side, the other half towards his left. He narrowed his gaze in turn to each side, "I told you this was a bad idea." he muttered to the blonde, when she said nothing, he continued, "What of the dark-haired girl, what did she say?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." she bit out under her breath.

"We need to take more drastic measures to coerce her into where we need her to be." he shifted his gaze to their fast approaching foes, "We'll take a step back, and strike at a more opportune moment."

"No!" she suddenly bit out, "Attack them now!!" she commanded as she pushed her form from the ground. Once she got over the initial shock of being soaked, she worked on willing her lightning based powers to come back to her.

Dieter didn't hesitate a heartbeat. He lunged at the first half so quick they didn't even havetime to think, they fell backwards in shock with their weapons and attacks shooting wildly into the air. He snapped at the second group, but they were less surprised. A few of their attacks cut and glanced by the heavyset beast. One of his heavy paws pushed back Cyborg in swift brush. Aqualad tried to intervene to give the mechanical Titan a chance to get up, but Dieter knocked the boy down with his large tail and snarled in his face. Bounding over the disgruntled Titans, he reclaimed a protective stance in front of his master.

Experimentally, Riona tried to will a spark of energy, but all she felt was a sharp shock spiral through her body. She winced, "Where is the rest of our army?"

"The metal one trapped them downstairs." he snarled in reply, "We're on our own." he dove back into the festering group of Titans trying desperately to gain an upper hand. He saw Riona prepare to attack out of the corner of his eye-- he knew they could win now.

Riona unleashed a rupture of lightning that blasted past Robin's head and nearly knocked Speedy out. Starfire fired back quickly with shards of green cutting the sky like lightning itself. Starfire continued flying in a rush towards Riona, fists outstretched, her intense gaze focused completely on her target. A sudden tug from behind sent her whirling off-course. Dieter turned his attention to his own set of Titans again. Speedy growled under his breath, before aiming a volley of arrows Riona's way. Her golden eyes flashed dangerously as though daring the boy to make a move. He shot them at her anyway. She batted some of them away like butterflies, but one knocked her squared in the shoulder and exploded violently in her face. A yell escaped her as she reeled backwards rubbing her injury.

Another crackle of fresh electric energy spurt from the woman's hands, "Care to try again?" she directed her gaze at Starfire, Robin, and Speedy who all narrowed their gazes in turn. Raven wanted to help fight as well (as far as Riona knew, she was still capable of that much, but really she wasn't) saw some of the Titans crumble under Dieter's strength. The stupid glow that was plaguing her hands only intensified as she angrily glared at them.

In a way he already had won that much, the upper hand that is-- especially considering that his partner in crime was now trying to fight-- Mas y Menos were frozen in place-- the wolf was too formidable for them-- Raven had been rendered nearly useless because of her inability to control the Biomorphicpower that seemed to permanently force her body into using it alone, Cyborg's left arm was acting up again he wasn't able to do much with it due to the injury he'd gotten a few weeks ago (he could've sworn that he'd fixed himself already), and Aqualad, for whatever reason, seemed to be weakening, and with Beast Boy still to show up, things were looking quite matched even in the wolf's eyes.

Dieter seemed pleased once half of their forces backed away. He prepared to launch himself into another attack. Rain suddenly poured from the sky and cascaded onto the Titans. Lightning split the heavens in a dangerous flash as Dieter leapt into the air, hitting something hard he recoiled backwards in a whip-like motion. A bird-like cry cut the sky mirroring the sound of lightning around it. In a shaky push, the grey wolf rose from the slippery rooftop, his devilish golden eyes were penetrated by a fear. A bristling green half-bird, half-lion advanced towards the wolf. His wings flapped dangerously in the wind, his obsidian-like claws grating against the metal sheets like nails on a chalkboard.

At the arrival of the gryphon, Riona froze in place-- completely afraid of this newcomer, "Altair…" dropped from her lips.

The gryphon had backed Dieter up enough to stand a space away from the sorceress. He let out an ear-splitting squall right in her face. He rose up on his haunches as though he had no reservations about crushing the frightened woman. Dieter had his own fears about this particular gryphon, but he needed to protect her. He was too spry for the beast's claws, and scooped her up in a rush of fur as the gryphon's sharp eagle talons crashed into the roof leaving a considerable dent. Riona clung to Dieter's back, "We can't face something that big with our forces trapped like they are. We have no choice but to retreat." he bounded over the side of the edging. And for once she didn't protest. All that mattered was getting away from her past…

The imposing and tall mythical being turned to face the Titans. They all seemed confused unable to make heads or tails of what had transgressed. They all receded back a few steps keeping their gazes locked on the imposing figure. Raven however stood where she was and looked up at the gryphon as he stood only a ruler's length from her.

"Raven, get out of there!" Robin demanded. Similar demands rose from the other Titans.

She figured that he'd forgotten about Altair, the gryphon who walked in her dreams, "He's nothing to be afraid of," the gryphon lowered his beak into her hands, "It's just Beast Boy, after all."

The gryphon shook rain from his feathers, and blinked his clouded eyes in recognition. A few heartbeats passed before he could resume human form. He tottered on his own weight for a moment, dizzily flopping into Raven's waiting arms (it seemed as though switching from such a large form into a much smaller one in such a tired state left him dizzy) she glanced at the others, "This is too serious for us to ignore any longer."

"We know it's serious," Robin spoke, approaching the pair, and taking Beast Boy from her arms, "She can kill with a single blow. And she almost took us out."

Beast Boy babbled incoherently for a moment, he shook his head a moment, "Lemme go." he then stood on his own rubbing his temple confusedly.

The Titans all gathered around the three as the rain slowed to a drizzle. Aqualad shot Raven a pained look, "Any chance you can heal this leg of mine?"

Raven glanced over her hands once more, "I'm not able to control this anymore. It's like it has a mind of it's own. I can only keep it chained to me. I'm sorry, but we'll have to turn to Cyborg for that until I find a cure."

"That's not what I'm talking about." she replied to Robin, "I'm talking about what's she's planning for the city. For someone's who's been so evasive lately, she sure walked into telling me her plan flat out."

"She probably didn't realize it." the green-eyed boy yawned, leaning his head on Raven's shoulder.

"She was well aware, believe me." her eyes were an empty stare.

"I don't think we'll be leaving anytime soon." Bumblebee commented, noticing Aqualad's injury, and Cyborg's half-functional arm.

"We'd like it if you'd stick around for awhile." Robin replied, casting her a look, "We'll have to sort this out."

"What about the animals downstairs?" Starfire inquired, "There were still many of the animals wandering the Tower when we made our way to the roof. There was even a real panther that attacked me." she fidgeted nervously.

"I installed a new laser defense system that we can use on the apparitions. We'll be able to clear them out well." Cyborg piped in, still fumbling with his renegade arm.

A few more raindrops pattered from the skyline, "Let's go inside and discuss this." Raven spoke, staring upward at the granite colored sky, _There will be more than you can imagine. You won't be able to stop it. I'll make sure of that…_ the witch's words still rung in the girl's ears, _No, I won't let you. This is still our city. And no matter what you do, we'll stop you. _She remembered Riona laughing at her defiant stance (of course she was still in wonderment as to why the witch didn't attack her at that point-- merely talking her ear off), _I have a feeling that my rats will think differently…_

"Raven," she broke her trans-like stare to look at her admirer, "Raven, come on let's go in." he tugged her hand gently.

"Yes, of course Beast Boy." she trailed after him still stuck in a fog of upset.

_**Argh, I've never wanted to fall asleep so badly in my life...yawn…I'll write more tomorrow…**_

_**-B.B.**_

* * *

Alright then, hopefully I will update much sooner than this so that everyone will remember everything that's going on. :) Thanks for reading!

Also, if anyone didn't get the joke Beast Boy made towards the beginning about 'Operation Taking Down Riambo'-- it was a play on the use of the term 'rambo' and I put an 'i' in there to make it like Riona's name. :p It's really not that funny, but I wanted to put a little wit in there somewhere.

Also a side note on Riona's use of electricity, as you will notice she shocked herself a couple times when she was soaking wet, however when she was fighting in the rain, she didn't shock herself at all. And that is because I'm playing on the fact that she was wet _after_ she already had electricity present. Think of it as though her powers are completely channeled into her hands so that it can't be recirculated into her body. However, when she tries to summon her power from scratch, it would have to go through the water first which results in shocking her, because everyone knows how potent electricity and water can be together.


	19. December 20th

My bad. I meant to post this like a week ago, but then little ol' Hurricane Gustav had to make its presence known and I had to evacuate without another thought. So I'm back, house is in tact, and ready for action. :p

Shoutouts to my faithful reviewers:

Mr. Average: Thanks, I like to think I'm clever. :p

SxStrngSamurai13:Thanks again. More action up ahead!

Raven'sWinterRaine: Thanks. :)

Akki Rei: Thank you so much for your exceptional praise. :D I'm glad you like it so much.

too many stars to count: Me too. It's so hard to write a blind person.

Wolvmbm: Thanks. And yes, she's pretty overconfident if you ask me.

paula2284: Don't oust Robin yet. He holds a grudge pretty well. And letting Raven turn evil has crossed my mind-- a little. ;)

Somewhere In Time:Thanks...but Altair might end up surprising you after all...

Storyreader16: I'll try to explain this. Hm, basically, her powers are kinda tied to her emotions. Water does have an adverse effect on her lightning if she tries to summon it after being soaked. However, if she has already summoned her power, and then becomes soaked, it has no effect. I was playing off the way an electrical current can be channeled through the body, or an electrical wire. (Even though no matter what you do, water on a wire will electrocute a person inevitably.) The power she has ties strongly into humitidy levels in the air, and the weather conditions around her-- I never intend on delving into this depth because it would probably prove too confusing-- if the air is pretty humid she'll have a fairly easier time summoning the power forth. (Later on, if I remember to write it in, Altair will explain how it's a matter of pulling it from the air around an individual). She will eventually wear herself out, but unfortunately, this hasn't occured yet because she hasn't stuck around long enough to actually be worn down. She's really a moody thing, so if her anger gets the best of her, she's worn out almost instantly. That's why in her first appearance, she was beaten and running very shortly after meeting the Titans. And as far as how the attack looks and works as far as lance, arcs, whips, etc, I left it open so that the reader can visualize it however they wish. It's easier than getting so nitty-gritty detailed that you loose the semblance of the fighting in the sentence.

Fighting to me is something that has to be written quickly and without hesistation or else it'll drag and seem less exciting. I always have to go back and make sure it's coherent but other than that, as long as people know what's going on, then I don't bother with that detail. Sorry. :)

Agent of the Divine One: Yes, tension, sweet tension. And soon time will close in even quicker.

_**Bold Italic writing that's centered with the occasional string of dots... Beast Boy's personal 'Journal'**_

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic_ thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

Hopefully that'llkeep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

* * *

**Explain This to Me**

_**December 20th 2007 5:30:15 am**_

_**I love it when she's near me…**_

"Oh Beast Boy rise and shine," a feminine voice cooed.

He yawned and felt a weight bounce on the edge of his bed, "…tired…" he grumbled, wishing he could turn over in his bed and sleep all day. He felt the weight shift across his bed, and a hand slide up his side, _Woah, you have my attention now…_ his green rimmed pupils opened wide focusing on the beauty in front of him.

_**I really do…**_

"Raven?" he sputtered nervously as she sat on his waist and pressed her nose to his.

"I said wake up!" a purr rose in her voice before she lavished a few kisses on his cheeks, lips and neck; her legs oh so conveniently placed on each side of his body-- she wasn't applying any pressure, but as close as she was, she might as well had been.

_**I hate it when she's isn't…**_

He shivered and let his hands rest on the more intimate curves of her body, he briefly glanced over her smooth blue nightgown, "It might take a lot more than that to wake me up." he grinned mischievously, pulling her closer, "But I must ask, why this sudden change of heart? I thought you said you didn't want this yet?"

_**I really do…**_

"I thought about it last night, and I thought about it after the fight with Riona. And," she smoothed her fingers over his chest, withher stomach pressed to his, "All I could think about was what would happen to me if you ever left." she brushed her lips against his in a deliberately slow motion, "My little ray of Sunshine…" she grinned while playfully batting at his stray hair.

_All Heavens be praised!_ his mind exclaimed, "You don't have to tell me twice." he replied evenly, quickly changing positions with her and stealing her lips in a deep kiss. After a few long minutes, that would've seemed like hours to the world, he looked down at her content face, and brushed back some of her stray locks.

"Beast Boy--"

"Yes my dear?" he twirled a finger in her loose and tussled hair while his other hand stroked against the smooth fabric of her nightgown.

"Wake up!" she suddenly shouted.

"Huh?"

"Wake up, Beast Boy." Raven grumbled as she tugged him by the collar and out of his deep slumber.

The green changelingblinked his sleepiness away rubbing his eyes until they focused on the forms of Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg. He flopped onto his back, "Ug, five more minutes." he yawned, bitterly thinking to himself, _I should've know it was a dream when she gave me an Eskimo kiss…damn I feel stupid…_

_**Once again, I hate this…**_

_**I really do... **_

_**Why can't that happen for real? ; )**_

"Robin wishes to give us a briefingbefore we speak with all of our teammates," Starfire began while handingher friend a uniform, "And Raven will share with us the plan Rionais supposedly making."

He sat up in bed, and stretched widely. He idly tugged the neck of the uniform he'd fallen asleep in the night before, "It's like a terrible dream that I can't ever wake up from…" he muttered, shrugging his covers off the bed.

His teammates gave him sympathetic looks before filing out-- well actually-- Raven hung back a moment, "Beast Boy," she spoke so quiet, that maybe even he couldn't hear her, "I needed to ask you something."

He tugged the upper half of his uniform down without any recognition of the fact that anyone was talking to him at all, _Stupid, stupid, stupid! Like Raven would __**EVER**__ do that…I wish… _

"Beast Boy, it's important." she prompted with a hand on the door seeing as he showed no signs of stopping his state of undress long enough to listen to her.

He was completely distracted, tossing the rest of his uniform off in a heap. It finally clicked in his slow working brain that Raven had addressed him-- twice-- he looked over his shoulder to see her blush, and run out the door. A small red splotch stained his cheeks, _Dammit…_ he pulled his clean uniform from the floor and slipped it on in a swift motion. He bent down to search for his shoes before heading out the door.

He'd hoped that he wouldn't run into her **until** the Conference room or Main room, whichever place they were gathering-- but fate was not so kind…

"Heya Rae," he stammered kickingthe ground withhis shoe, "I didn't hear ya. I kinda had a…" he blushed slightly, "…troubling dream this morning." he rubbed his neck nervously.

"It's alright, Sunshine." she smiled and tried to hide the blush consuming her pale face, all she could think about was how nice he looked in just his boxers, "After all, I was the one who couldn't take a hint." she looked away from his gaze, _Why can't I get that image out of my head? Now it'll be like a permanent screensaver…_

"Did you just call me 'Sunshine'?" he looked at her with a perplexed expression shaping his face.

She blushed even harder then, it was like they were back at square one all over again, it was like they'd never even talked before-- _Azar! Why is this so hard for me? I like him, just say it already!_ "It was the nickname I gave you, remember? I told you that it's a very fitting nickname, remember?" she decided to shrug it off and start walking towards the Conference room, "We have to join the others. This is only going to get worse, and the longer we sit on our laurels the harder it's going to be counter her next move."

_**Business as usual…Sunshine? That musta been where **__**THAT**__** line in my dream came from-- she's only called me that twice now. She's not really a nickname person, or so she says…**_

"What was that important thing you had to ask me?"

"Ah, I'll just ask you after this-- Robin said he wanted to start patrols immediately. He doesn't want to wait or hesitate any more."

The pair had finally caught up with Cyborg and Starfire. Cyborg had overheard a part of their conversation and decided to add to it, "Yeah, Rob said that as much as we all need sleep-- that we can 'sleep when we're dead'." the half-mechanical boy rolled his eyes at the 'Typical Robin' comment.

Starfire glanced backwards at the pair as well, "Beast Boy, Robin was also wondering about how you became such a large gryphon. Because we have seen you as a gryphon before, it's true," she looked fretful for some reason, like his newfound strengthwas something to be afraid of, "but never such a tall, and wide one."

The words sunk in quickly and he began chattering quickly, "That reminds me, I meant to tell you what happened last night. It really was surreal." They all cast him curious glances; Raven especially, "Well, after Cy and I made it to the roof…"

_Beast Boy's pace faltered. He hung back in the stairwell as Cyborg rushed out to help his teammates oblivious to his friend's hindrance. The younger boy breathed out a shallow breath, "Who are you? What do you want?"_

_The voice that had been plaguing him spoke again, "Become what they fear most-- a gryphon." but after that, he was given no other answer._

_The boy had been given this answer earlier in the hallway when Dieter had been mercilessly swiping at him. And the voice wouldn't leavewell enough alone, so Beast Boy figured it was worth a try. He often didn't become mythical animals because they were harder for him to quickly visualize-- and quite frankly-- he wasn't able to replicate any special abilities they had--ie. Magic-- so thus pointless-- in a sense. So as he relinquished one last deep breath, he contorted his body and forced it into the complicated form of a gryphon. He shook his feathered head and tested his wings out. He was a rather short boy when compared to his peers, after all, and thus produced a shorter gryphon than he would'veliked. But before he had a chance to re-imagine himself as somethingtaller, a sharp bolt of lightning shot through his body._

_After a few missed heartbeats, he found himself alive, but in a trans-like state and as a much larger beast. It was as though someone else was controlling his movements and he was subject to watch (what transgressed was what he would've done anyway, so he couldn't complain). And once Raven touched his beak, he felt the overwhelming presence disappear and seemingly a part of his energy disappear. He flopped into her waiting arms dizzily…_

Raven's eyes widened for a fraction of second before they refocused on walking forward. Cyborg and Starfire(he could swear that she had a fearful look on her face as well) bothcommented on how strange the situation was, and that maybe one of Riona's henchmen had somethingto do with it…but then again, why would **it **purposely tell him to become what they fear? Once the group had arrived in the Conference Hall, Raven took him by his hand and pulled him in front of the group to ensure he wouldn't wander off afterwards.

The collective group directed their full attention the dark-haired girl-- strangely enough she didn't even seem the slightest embarrassed to be in front of the others while still holding his hand, "As many of you probably already know, Rionaattacked our Tower last night. She was able to disable our security system, overrun our home with ghost-like animals that can only be killed by electricity, and nearly disabled all of us. Her intent has been to get us out of the picture completely-- to put it nicely." she sighed and looked away, seeming unable to continue.

Robin cleared his throat, and motioned for Raven to continue. She shot him an irritated look, but continued anyway, "For whatever reason, she has a grudge against our city. And she plans on exterminating anyone who gets in her way." Raven's memory was flooded with thoughts of the previous night…

"_It's so simple. So easy to figure out, I can't believe you haven't figured it out yourself already." Riona apathetically spoke, sighing as though she were wasting her time, "I guess I expected too much of this little sorceress." a twisted smile formed on her pale lips._

"_You can act like all of this obvious, but really, you've been completely arbitrary. And shouldn't you be keeping your plans to yourself anyway?" the dark-haired girl shot back, "There is no plan you're just trying to confuse us by saying there is some structure."_

_Rionalunged forward and pulled back quickly in an attempt to startle the girl. It worked and a splash of electricity fell from Raven's hands in a figurative display of the girl's apprehension. The older woman made a 'tsk'-ingsound, "I knew it." she breathed out, "Despite my will to kill you in such a hindered state, I'll spare you. And quite frankly, I don't believeI could really kill you if I tried. But I know something that can and will. I will eliminate anyone who stands in my way, that you already know." _

"_I don't see how that's possible. You've already made it quite clear to the rest of us that your powers don't work on me, nor do they work on Beast Boy."_

_The witch bristled at her sharp comment, "There will be more than you can imagine. You won't be able to stop it. I'll make sure of that."_

"_No, I won't let you. This is still our city. And no matter what you do, we'll stop you."_

_Riona laughed at her defiant stance, _"_I have a feeling that my rats will think differently…"_

Raven finished explaining the situation to her teammates. She glanced at her green-haired teammate who'd been stoically by her side the whole time. He hadn't interrupted at all, and she wondered what could be bothering him at that moment; it was obvious that they all had a lot to worry about.

"Come on Raven," Robin's command broke through her thoughts, "We have to find her, and find her fast."

A heartbeat later her hand felt cold; Beast Boy had already left her side despite her efforts. He was disappearing amidst the mass of Titans as they filed out the door. She felt a pain in her heart, but she couldn't tell if the pain was her own…or his. Gliding after Robin-- of course she hadn't mentioned to anyone that last night she'd cracked the mystery of her missing powers-- _The different powers types merged together, affected by my emotions, and fueled by self-control, or boundless emotion depending on what I want to use…I'm at odds with myself again…how typical…_

She quickly fell in step with her teammates. Starfire tugged the girl's arm, "Raven, once we return, I havesomething important for you to look at."

The empath nodded and continued without another thought. Starfire wringedher hands nervously as she followed the collective group, _I hope I'm not right about this… Oh please let me be wrong about this!!_

After a few hours of searching, the Titans had come up empty handed. Even with so many extra 'hands' they hadn't been able to find a trace of Riona, or the rats she was apparently sending-- however the true severity of a rat infestation hadn't dawned upon even the brightest among them. All that came to mind was the shear fact that they would need a ready source of electricity to eliminate the pests quickly-- which is exactly why Cyborg had stayed behind to work on a gadget or some kind of device to wield the power of lightning effectively-- and safely.

Beast Boy had been more focused and detached from those around him than usual considering his lack of sleep. He figured since he'd been awoken from the sweetest dream he'd had in awhile that he had reason to be in a sour mood. Strangely enough, Starfirehad been clinging to his side seemingly all day-- like she was inspecting him from afar. Finally, he snapped, "What's the problem Star? You've been looking at me like I'm goingto grow another arm or something!"

She shrunk a hair at his words, "Sorry, Friend." she rubbed her arm nervously, "I was just thinkingabout something that happened on Tamaran a long time ago…" her gaze drifted skyward, a misty breeze blowing in her emerald eyes.

He gave her a wondering look, a similar wariness flowing over him. He looked towards the sky as well while a shallow winter wind passed by; A clear blue sky that seemed to be fighting through the grey patches of the heavens. An expanse of clouds now covered the sky, blocking the pale sun from view.

"What happened on Tamaran?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he needed to ask.

"Ah, I'm just being paranoid." she waved it off, with a smile and a laugh, and then her face faltered into an unsure one, "But I…"

"Starfire, Beast Boy, report." Robin's voice came through the communicator, she looked down into the palm of her hand.

"Dude, even _**he**_ knows you've been following me all day."

She stuck her tongue out at her 'brother', 'Locator signal' she mouthed, before answering Robin, "There's nothing to be found."

"Oh yeah," he shook his head at his own dimness, "How could I not realize that?"

_**Yay for sleep deprivation. :p**_

A growl of frustration was heard on the other end. Someone questioned Robin in the background but they couldn't discern the voice, "We'll have to re-group and re-search our respective areas."

Starfire and Beast Boy sighed in unison. Each of the two let an amused giggle pass their lips, before Robin's grumble interrupted them, "Sorry Robin."

"Can't we at least eat lunch beforehand? I'm starving!" the boy whined as he leaned around Starfire's shoulder.

"If you even think of saying we can eat when we're dead--" Raven's voice threatened in the background.

The green-haired boy and red-haired girl began laughing again. She definitely sounded irritated with the Boy Wonder-- which was rare for her to began with-- so it only made everything more hilarious…at least to those two. Robin cleared his throat, "Alright, but we're not having any kind of extended lunch or second lunch Beast Boy."

"What about second breakfast?" he chuckled as he imitated one of the Lord of Rings hobbits.

"No, Beast Boy." Robin let a small smile grace his lips before he severed the connection.

Starfire and Beast Boy quickly headed off in the direction of their favorite pizza place. There was no argument or question in their minds as the pair glided off-- it was their typical meetingplace. Robin turned towards Raven. She gave him a wonderinglook, "Are you sure that's all she said? Rats?" he asked with a voice laden in guilt and frustration.

"I've thought it over a thousand times. There wasn't any subtext that I missed. The only clue she gave us was that we'd be up against rats. That there would be more than we can even imagine." she stared down at the ground, "I figured they would be very obvious to our eyes."

"Perhaps." he kicked a rock before his gaze drifted skyward, "We need to hurry-- it already looks like we'll get our first winter snow. It's always a dangerous day when that happens. People always manage to get caught in the storm. Everyone gets a terrible cold." he rubbed his arms in a rare display of his own humanity.

"I know." she huffed, her breath misting in the cold air, "We might have to just start again tomorrow."

"It's not good enough." he replied, "We should've found something by now. We're going to have to think outside of the box." he paused to punch in a few of his fellow Titan's communicator signals, "Bumblebee, report."

"It's freezing over here." she replied with an edge in her voice, "There's nothing here, not even in Steel City. Flash stopped by earlier." their were some other voices in the background, "Yeah I'm telling him now." she answered the voices before continuing, "He's been running himself crazy trying to find these stupid things. And still nothing."

"¡Sí, nada!" Mas y Menos cut in from the other end.

"We're taking a break to eat." Robin responded, ruffling his own hair as he spoke, "You can come if you want, but we're probably not going to find anything today."

"It's probably better that way," Bumblebee shivered, "It's getting almost too cold to breath over here."

"Is it snowing over there yet?" a flash of concern crossed his face.

"Yeah, it's more of a rain drizzle though."

Robin glanced at his companion, and she nodded her understanding, "Thanks Bumblebee. We'll be in touch." he clicked the communicator shut. He began walking towards the inner city. Raven floated after him with a sigh in her form, _Oh what are we to do?_

Little did the two know that they were being watched from afar…

"My, I didn't believe it when she said it," the wolf gruffly spoke, "but she is an expert in misdirection and eluding her enemies."

"I'd much rather attack them now." another voice hissed, scrapping his claws against the ground.

"Quit it. We'll be attacking soon enough-- and **now** that we have to look out for that nuisance-- Altair," the animal paused to scratch her ear, "We'll have to be even more prepared than last time."

"We should report back." the wolf told his companions, turning around to bound across the rooftops…

_**Often times, I find pieces of that book-- Tragic Discord-- floating about my consciousness. Hitting me in the face when I least expect it-- **_

_**I just want to sit here and enjoy my pizza dammit… :P**_

_When I was younger, my nursemaid often told me a story about how the gryphon first came to be…_

_Ancient lore describes the birth of the first gryphon as a star's spirit that fell to the Earth. It fell into the deep pits of a forest during a lightingstorm. Born of fire and lightning, a beast withobsidian-sapphire talons, and wings that glimmered like a thousand stars. Half eagle, half lion; the beast bore the strength of ten thousand lions, and the beautiful grace of a thousand eagles. It could fly as fast and as high as the heavens themselves. The beast was capable of a magic humans could never understand-- a magic that caused the Earth itself to grow and flourish into a more beautiful place._

_The golden-pelted gryphon was a wild spirit that longed to return to its heavenly home, but no matter how many times the mythic beauty tried to accomplish this, it could not be so. It was an air breather now, and an airless sky could never do. Late each night, it would pray to its sky brethren, hoping for companionship. So many stars fell from the sky that night, it was as though the gryphon race had always been._

_However, once humans discovered their potential, a union of kindred spirits was the furthest from mind…_

"Foolish humans," a masculine voice muttered to himself as he fluffed out his neck feathers, he paused to preen his glossy feathers a moment, "I can't believe I had any confidence in them at all." he shook the last remnants of water from his golden pelt, "But I needn't worry any more, I got what I wanted from them, and now I'll be atoned after all of these centuries of waiting!" he took a deep breath of the frigid winter air, "It would've taken them another century to finish what started. So help me," he ran swiftly down the alleyway and leapt into the night air, "If we cross paths again, she's going to be one unhappy sorceress…"

_**So Robin decided that it would be pointless for us to keep looking, especially since it started snowing today. Yeah, normally Bird Boy doesn't have much regard for the weather-- 'through sleet, and snow, and heavy rain' is normally what he says but not when it's the City's **__**first**__** winter snow. It's always the worst.**_

_**And if that wasn't enough, that night was even more stressful…**_

"Friend Raven, I must speak with you at once." Starfiredemanded, taking the girl by the arm, and pulling her past the Titan boys and up the stairs.

"I want to ask you something once we get back." Raven exclaimed, as she was tugged up the stairs.

Beast Boy blinked, and assumed that she meant him. He watched them go with a question in his eyes. He'd never seen Starfireso intent dragging Raven anywhere-- well because Raven would probably kill the alien princess for it. Anyway, Beast Boy watched as Cyborg and Robin went off to finish other projects. Robin was probably going to try and dig up more information the infamous sorceress, and Cyborg was probably going to finish working on their weapons defense.

Beast Boy sighed, and flopped onto the couch. It was late and all he wanted to do was sleep. His ears had been ringingall day, the sun had been particularly bright to his eyes, and it didn't seem as though his nose would ever quit tingling withevery last scent. He didn't think that anything could be as putrid was the city to him that particular day. He turned on the Gamestation 3 and began playing.

Just when Beast Boy was ready to resign himself to his room, he started thinkingabout how angry she'd probably be withhim for leaving. And he felt so worried about other things that hadn't even crossed his mind earlier; he found that he was afraid of what could happen next. Would they really be strong enough to fend off what Riona was sending their way?

Cyborg came walking into the room, "Hey B, no late night slumber parties with Raven?" Cyborg wiggled his eyebrow suggestively, but he already knew the answer so he sat down next to his friend, "Raven will be Raven, you know." he patted the younger boy's back.

The green-eyed boy kept mashing video game controller buttons, unblinkingly he replied, "I just can't stand to be around her right now. I like her too much, and I want her too much." his game character died, "Dammit." he pressed the reset button and refocused his gaze on the blue screen.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." he half-sighed, "Bumblebee, she's just-- I don't know-- worried about team schisms or something."

"I knew it was a real date." the younger boy chuckled as he remembered that his friends swore up and down that they were only pairing off for the sake of the Mayor's Ball.

Cyborg's cheek tinged pink for a second, "Yeah, well, I should be getting back to the project." he pushed himself off of the couch and walked back upstairs.

Beast Boy sighed a little but kept his gaze unmoving on the game before him…

"You mean this has happened before? Everything that's happening right now, has happened before?" Raven's voice cracked as the mere fact broke over her head.

"Not exactly, but similarly." the orange-haired princess replied, "There was--"

"Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?" the dark-haired girl seemed more upset in general than angry at her.

"I was too caught up in my own trauma-- as Beast Boy puts it." she replied softly, "I hadn't realized the parallels until last night-- with the gryphon." Raven calmed herself and nodded for the girl to continue, "Do you know where the gryphon originated?"

"In early Egyptian and Sumerian mythology?" the dark-haired girl provided, "But really, it depends on who you ask."

"That is what they would have you believe." she sighed while running her hands over the purple book she'd had ever since she was young, "They are not of the Earth, and they are not of this galaxy even."

Raven eyed the book warily, "So you think the gryphon I was talkingto is bad then? Is that what you're getting at?"

"No. There were kind-hearted gryphons among them." she traced a line into the orange writing on the cover, "They came to Tamaran a short time after my parents had come to power. I wasn't born yet, however. But they told me the story every bedtime or so."

"What happened-- exactly?"

"Well," she pried the dusty book open, "I'll start at the beginning I suppose."

_It is often said that these fearsome beasts came from a faraway galaxy. They had been driven from their home and were in search of a replacement land. They came to Tamaran in a large herd. A strange creature that could call forth the earthto grow and animals to springback to life, with wings of gold and silver, and eyes that could pierce the soul. They offered us a peaceful leave. Sharingthe planet was not an option. But I do not believe that my people would have allowed it anyway. _

_There was a terrible and long battle between my people and the beasts. Finally the leader of them, decided that it wasn't worth fighting our people over. We were too resilient. At that point, for whatever reason, my Father showed a stray compassionate thought, "What will you do?"_

"_We will divide and find homes for ourselves." his golden eyes gleaming in the twinkling starlight, "A place where the inhabitants are much more malleable."_

_That was the last time a 'gryphon' had been sighted on Tamaran. But Father was still curious, so he sent some scouts to find the homeless beings._

"That's strange." Raven interjected, "They won; why would he care to seek his rivals out?"

Starfire shrugged, "My Father is what you call 'over the bottom'."

"Over the top?" she grinned, "Eccentric?"

"That's what I mean." a glimmer of a 'Starfire' smile broached her cheeks.

_When my Father's scouts found that some of the creatures had made their home on Earth, he was curious still, but he called his scouts back anyway. There was nothing else that could be gained by following them._

"Not to interrupt again," there was a dim look in her eyes, "But what does this have to do with now?"

"We almost did not win that final battle." she sighed and folded her arms.

There was a long silence as Starfire handed the book to her dark-haired friend. The empath flipped through the book. It was definitely much longer than the story Starfire had just reiterated. She scanned the pages full of Tamaranian writing and detailed illustrations.

"Why are you hiding Friend Raven?" the girl tentatively asked.

"Hiding?" she warranted her a half-look as she continued scanning the pages of the book.

"From Beast Boy."

She sighed deeply, "Starfire, I'm not hiding from him anymore than I'm hiding from the rest of you. Besides, it's no one's business but mine." Starfire nodded dimly at this, she really didn't have a place in that conversation.

Raven stopped on a page with a large picture on it, and Tamaranian writing below it, "What does it say here?"

The green-eyed girl looked at the picture with a victorious Tamaranwarrior piercingthe heart of a 'gryphon', her eyes saddened, "Those who vanquish for the day made be vanquished by those who live in the night. A pale moon never rises."

Raven quirked her lips in confusion, "Explanation?"

"'A pale moon never rises' doesn't mean anything. It is a saying we have." she rested her chin on her palm, "The other part is referring to how my people were almost overcome by the influential nature of the beings. They were very close to fooling our higher ups into a false sense of security. They wanted to overtake us from the inside out."

A sharp realization panged through the magic bearer, "Altair-- " she rubbed her forehead in aggravation, "You think he was using me to get something in return? Besides his 'honor'?"

"I was afraid of it as soon as you mentioned it, yes. But I had faiththat you would be able to reason with a spirit. But once I heard what Beast Boy experienced the other night, I could not withhold this information any longer." her eyes watered, "It is the same experience written here." she pointed to the page Raven had finally flipped to. An image next to a long paragraph of text painted a vivid picture of a gryphon-like creature beingreborn through the warrior who'd slain the beast only a few pages before. The spirit rippingstraight through the body and breathing again.

Raven looked at the image with a pale glance of upset grazing her face-- it was one thing to read about murder mysteries, but it was another thing to know that they had actually happened, "He didn't…" the next words tripped off her tongue like it was a foreign concept, "…die-- did he?"

"No. But Father always said that that warrior felt like a part of him was 'missing'." she sighed again, "They are very tricky things. So you would do well to not rely on Altair, and rely on your own strength Raven."

"I'll keep that in mind." she smiled slightly. Raven stood up to leave.

Starfire rose to meet her, "Please, be careful."

"I always am." she was about to walk away, but Starfire hugged her mid-step preventing her from doing so, "Starf-"

"I'm sorry."

A dribble of wet slipped down Raven's back, it felt like a knife, but she said it anyway, "It's okay. Just don't do it again." she placed a light hand on the taller girl's back, "I wouldn't be able to take it and he couldn't even take it this time around."

Raven finally walked down those familiar stairs again, "Beast Boy? Are you still down here?" of course she didn't really have to ask, she could already sense his presence, but it was just standard-- a fragment of normalcy for her. She shuffled to the couch and saw that he was fast asleep on the couch, half on it, and half of his legs draped on the floor and table. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, she rubbed his shoulder blade soothingly, "Wake up…" but she couldn't will herself to actually wake him. He looked so peaceful and she knew he hadn't had a lot of sleep lately-- it was unfair of her to ask him to wait up.

It was important though…_I'll wait for him-- like he waits for me…_ she decided, settling herself beside him.

--

"Hey you! You think you can just roam the streets wherever you like? This is our side of town!!" a shrill voice commanded.

The patron being addressed merely flipped a nonchalant gaze over his shoulder, "You'll do well to mind your own business."

But the disgruntled and territorial creature wouldn't pay any mind, and lunged at his odd looking foe. The animal hit the hard bone structure of his opponent's hindquarter before flopping onto the floor unconscious. The beast who'd been attacked glanced back again, "Keep your love taps to yourself." he snorted.

Just when the victor thought he'd walk away unscathed, another voice addressed him, "How very haughty of you..." The patron turned his piercing green gaze upon a rather large wolf.

The wolf rose from his haunches, "Altair…"

Altair snorted, and shook his beak in amusement, "What, not afraid of me anymore, Dieter?"

The wolf snarled at this insensitive comment and a few other ghost-like animals came forth from the shadows. He opted not to grace the gryphon witha quip; instead he merely approached in a deliberately slow speed with a glare in his yellow gaze.

"That clever boy was the one who scared you off when you believed it to be me." he continued-- and as though to mock them even more-- he sat down on his haunches, curled his tail around his feet, and closed his eyes, "And now that I've truly been reborn--"

The gryphon never got to finish his sentence. Dieter's fist had already collided into his beak and sent him flailing. The golden creature fell into the pavement in the form of an unceremonious lump. Altair shook his head free of the dizzy influence-- he'd sensed the wolf approaching, but he was certain that he wouldn't actually attack. An aggravated huff escaped the larger animal as he pushed himself from the pavement.

"My, my so the mighty can fall after all." there was no humor in the wolf's voice as he flexed his claws. The other three smaller animals followed after him with acid foaming around their lips.

The emerald eyed gryphonstood his ground as if daring them to strike again. His long tail thrashing back and forth in a threatening manner before he lunged at the wolf and his companions. His nimble feet dodged the lupine's movements easily and left the grey beast a few hot bruises in return. Dieter winced as his skin seemed to burn in the places he'd been marked. The three animals closed in on their prey-- paying no heed to their leader's burning flesh.

In almost total unison, they retched the vile acid at the haughty gryphon. He leaptaside, and stared down at the pool of green ooze in disgust. His wings shivered in a display of upset, but he had to get away, and in tact-- he flipped his tail in at the three as a means to startle them (he had no idea what kind of range they had, he needed to test it). The plump looking bear cub fell over himself, but the other two leaptat his sensitive tail and began viciously bitingit. A pained eagle cry split the night like a wave crashingupon the shore. Altair bolted away with the two beastiesstill clingingto his tail. He shook them off violently, and began flapping his wings vibrantly. He wasn't a coward, but fighting them in his current state would prove-- Dieter yanked the gryphon from sky and he crashed into the pavement breaking it into a million pieces-- difficult.

With shaky unstable limbs, he stood once more. Dieter only grinned at the beast full of malice, "Let's just see how well you fair without your magic."

Altair bristled, _He's known all along…_ his mind understood at once.

An army of ghost animals appeared in the pale moonlight as snowflakes started to fall once more. Altair felt his senses dim, a state of cold shock washing over him. He remained calm, but he was inevitably outnumbered and outmatched. Dieter alone was enough to send him scrabbling, but an army of these beasts put together? It was already like an ambush with the three of them-- he didn't need any other things to fight.

"Your wings aren't glimmering are they?" he began again, an air of confidence in his voice, "You were born of lightning and **fire**, right?" a snaky, toothy smile wrinkling his face, "You're powerless."

Altair had been staring at his wings while the wolf spoke to him, but he snapped his attention to his foe at this sentence, "I may not have any magic, but I'm not powerless."

"Prove it." he snarled in reply.

Altair emitted another low growl, "Be careful what you wish for…"

A few hours later the proud gryphon was heading deep into the hills located outside of the city limits, _Dreadful beings they were…_ he thought to himself as his side wounds oozed and burned with a thousand different heats, _The sooner I fix this, the better…_ he continued assuring himself as he reached the peak of the hills. He stared out across the ultramarine water and then focused his gaze on the smoking and fuming power plants, _I can understand Riona's intent-- the world was a far more beautiful place long ago-- but killing the innocent is unforgivable…_

He finally came to the first power plant, and broke his way into the metal building. As he wandered around the building, he continued searching for what he was looking for. While he'd inhabited the dark-haired girl's mind, he'd learned everything about the modern world from her knowledge base-- and she was quite wise after all-- he knew just about everything there was to know about the human world now. That was precisely why he was wandering the power plant, looking for the very thing that would bring back his life force (he was on borrowed time so to speak), _A volcano would've worked better, but a furnace should do the trick-- it I can find one big enough… _he nosed his beak over the edge of a furnace door, _Much too small…_ he conceded.

Once he left that power plant, he continued onwards-- searching every factory and man made manufacturing plant until he found the fire he needed to survive once more-- the molten immersion that would heat the chill in his heart…

--

"Hm, Raven?" he sat up rubbing his eyes and glanced at the dark-haired girl as she lay next to him in his bunk bed.

She breathed out a few times before her sleepy eyes opened, "Yes?"

"What did you want to tell me?" his bleary eyes seeming to yawn at her.

"That's easy." she softly giggled, "I want you." she tapped her fingertips on his chest.

"Really?" he grinned.

"Uh-huh." her voice seemed to purr as his arms snaked around her.

Raven found herself completely surrounded by the green-haired Titan as she sat next to him on the couch, "You want this alright--" he muttered, still half-asleep.

"I want you to wake up." she grumbled, even though he didn't show any signs of waking up. He wrapped his arms around her tighter, and tried to kiss her despite his sleepiness. She turned away from him a moment as he lazily tried to coerce her into it, _He must be dreaming of me or something…_

"C'mon babe, don't be shy." he puckered his lips in a way-- that would have been comical had _she_ not been in that situation.

And then she remembered that once, this had happened before-- only it wasn't her but Robin who'd fallen asleep in Starfire's lap. The dark-haired girl observed from afar. Curious as though whether she would shove the sleepily-affectionate boy from her lap. It seemed like an easy answer to the sorceress-- of course that was about two years ago. But Starfire's remedy to the situation was a shock to her.

Starfireleaned into the boy's kisses, and it only took a few to wake him from his stupor. Of course, he was so embarrassed that he disappeared for a couple hours after that. The girl sighed to herself-- it really was stupid for her to even be havingthat conversation with herself. Awkwardly, she straightened the wobbly boy out, and kissed him full on the lips.

"Raven…" he half-murmured as sleep fell from his eyes and he realized that she _actually_ was kissing him after all.

It took half-a-heartbeat, but he shot to the other side of the couch, "Taking advantage of my virgin lips how dare you!!"

Her eyes were wider than an owl's in the darkest of nights, "What the hell…Beast Boy," her expression deadpanned, "I told you to quit taking Prozac-- it messes with your head."

He shook his head, and mussed his hair, "My bad. I have no clue-- WHY-- you would think that I was--" a wide yawn penetrated his sentence, "--taking something like that."

"Ug," was all that came to mind as she rubbed her forehead, _It's too late for conversations like this…_ "I wanted to ask you about yesterday, but apparently, you're too sleep deprived to think straight. So good night, I'll see you in the morning."

"I'm not taking Prozac…" he grumbled to himself, "I didn't-- uh-- do anything to you right?"

"Besides grope me-- no. You're lucky I have a policy against harming the sleep deprived." she brushed her uniform off as she stood up. She glanced back at him with a half-smile, "Get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be even harder than yesterday." she leaned down and left a brief kiss on his cheek.

He placed a hand on his cheek, and rubbed it begrudgingly, "I swear to God…" he narrowed his gaze at her, "You're a tease. And I can't stand it."

A harsh red blush stained her cheeks, "Ah, about that…" she couldn't even look at him, "I didn't mean to confuse you. But it is my nature after all," she tore her gaze from the floor to look at him, "My answer is yes. I will be _some_ of what you want me to be."

"Eh? What did I want you to be?" he scratched his head.

She decided to simplify into the most basic, generic, over possessive terms she could break herself to say so their would be no more discrepancies, no more riding the fence, and maybe, just maybe he'd stop being so moody and mope-y around the Tower...

"I'm yours." and with that, she walked upstairs.

"You're not going to change your mind again are you?" he called after her, but she didn't respond, he rubbed his chin contemplatively, "She's testingme or something. NO way she'd say it that way. Ug, I'm exhausted." he flopped backward on the couch without another thought about anything.

**_…snore…_**

_**-B.B.**_

* * *

Alrighty, if any of this is confusing and broken to you guys, then you needn't worry-- thing will be explained later on. Hopefully no one'stoo upset with the fact that I made the gryphon an unearthly creature. I bent the mythology of a gryphon for my own devices. So yeah. I REALLY wanted to put in another intense fight scene thing, but since Riona's so spooked about Altair, I figured that it wouldn't make sense for her to show up again so soon. But soon, oh so soon it will all be going down. I'm excited just thinking about it! It's going to be hard to write though. xx

And if the last part is awkward, sorry about that. It was late and I was tired of BB and Rae being in limbo when they've practically done everything in the book as far as couples go. I know, I know, most stories wait 'til the end for the characters to get together, but once again my story takes the atypical route. So enjoy and hopefully I'll get the next chapter up soon.

Also, as if it isn't obvious, BB doesn't believe Raven for a second when she says her very controvesial, and un-Raven-like line. ;)


	20. Intermission Part One

Hey everyone, sorry it's been forever since I updated. A lot of life stuff went down, hindering me from completing anything really. But now I'm okay, and sorry that this is just an intermission, but I figured that it would be nice if all of my loyal fans had something to whet their appetites while I put the finishing touches on my chapter. It will be up soon I promise! Just getting over writer's block. x_x

So kick back, and enjoy. :)

**Reviewer Shoutouts:**

**Akki Rei-** Haha, me too. I thought some comic relief would do the story good. ;)

**too many stars to count-** Thanks, and yeah, I try to limit the info, but it keeps metamorphizing. Sometimes I have trouble keeping it together. Lol

**Raven'sWinterRaine-** *bows* Thank you. But sometimes I feel like the action is lacking!!

**titanfan45-** It might be contraversial for some women, but I have no trouble telling my BF that I belong to him, so in this extreme case it seemed like the only thing Raven could say to get it through his confused head. But we'll see. :)

**6StringSamurai13-** Thanks. :) But why'd you add that "6" to your name?

**Storyreader16-** Anyway I can help with the other 7%? Lol. Thanks and your welcome. ^^

**Agent of the Divine One-** Sometimes I wonder where the intensity in my writting comes from, I'm actually quite laid back. Lol ^^;

**Mr. Average-** He said the thing about virgin lips because he's so confused that he doesn't even realized that he and Raven have kissed for real before. He's still stuck in a limbo like state of mind. Poor kid... XD

**CraneLee-** Thanks! Hope you keep reading! :D

**BlackenedDeath666-** Cool deal dude. ^_^ Glad my story was just what you needed to read.

**intrestinglydullperson-** Thank you so much for your review. It was very flattering to hear you lost sleep over it. ='_'= But plz try to get some sleep(after you read this chapter)! Lol

**AnimeWhore666DOOM-** Dude, believe me, I WANT to know what happens too. Lmao. I just havent been able to piece everything together the way I need it to be done. :/

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic_ thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

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**Explain This to Me**

**Intermission Part One:**

**A Valid Point**

Sighing, the dark-haired beauty folded the last piece of her clothing into her drawer. It seemed odd t o her, but slowly, she'd been favoring casual clothes over her normal uniform. She figured that was Beast Boy's doing-- considering his light natured personality-- and of course the minor fact that they were dating-- and had been dating for quite some time.

Often times, he'd show up unannounced and practically knock her down to lavish her with affection. There was one time however, when he mentioned that maybe she should wear casual clothing so they could have more 'freedom' as he put it. Of course she knew instantly that he meant 'skin contact'. And despite her normally stubborn nature, she'd complied with a curious intent.

She glanced at her form in the mirror, _The uniform does get pretty itchy after awhile…_ she conceded, quite pleased with the simple t-shirt and sweatpants she was sporting. She glanced down at her pink heart-shaped watch (compliments of Starfire…which she wore only to keep her friend happy-- she would've much rather a black or blue colored one), _Eh, is it already that late? Better hurry…_

Suddenly the door was slid open in a none too calm manner. Beast Boy peered into her dimly lit room, "Ravy-dear!" he glanced from side to side. He sauntered all the way into her room and began looking around, "Maybe she isn't here?" he wondered out loud as he wandered by her closet.

A large weight landed on his broad back, "Surprise!" she smiled, as he was knocked to ground.

"Oof," he wheezed, ass she sat quaintly on top of his lower back, smoothing her hands into his taut muscles she teased him, "My, my, you're wasting away darlin'."

He pretended to struggle under her weight, "Ug, lemme up. I can't move an inch." he laughed relaxing his body into the sensitive kneading of her delicate fingertips across his back.

"You know you don't want that," she whispered into his ear-- sure, a year ago, she would've blushed at the mere thought of pouncing on his back like she had-- but now that she'd become very comfortable with that green-eyed boy, it was simply a matter of time before she'd muster the courage to do so, "You like this too much." she let her hand dip slowly into all of the creases of his back.

"Damn, Raven," he moaned happily, as his muscles relaxed, "You're never like this…"

"That's a good thing then?" cautiously, she placed a kiss mid-back.

He shivered in elation, "Perfect."

Shortly, he took control of the situation and carried her to the bed. Unceremoniously she flopped onto the bed with him following quickly after her-- he never landed on top of her, but he always made it a point to get over her eventually. His body tautly pressed against hers while his fingers teased the edges of her shirt. He wasn't too focused on kissing her at the moment, merely staring to her eyes to judge her reaction.

They had been together more than a significant amount of time, and she wondered when they would-- if they ever would hit 'second base'. She felt his hands creep even further up the sides of her shirt, and instantly she realized-- they just might--

"Wait--" she pushed his hands gently away.

"What? What is it?" he blinked cutely at her.

"I just wanna," she struggled for a way to diffuse the situation delicately-- there were a few things about her that she wasn't _exactly_ ready for him to find out about yet, "Cuddle." she cooed.

His face twitched a bit at that remark, "This really wasn't the reason I came by, (_of course I wasn't going to pass up the chance to make out…) _but I guess I shouldn't complain." he sighed as he snuggled up next to her.

"No you shouldn't." she wrapped her arms around his midsection, "It's not so much about you putting your hands there as it is-- I'm just-- ah-- hmm…how do I put this?"

"Raven bumbling through a speech-- that's a sight to behold." he snickered.

She punched him in the shoulder, "What did you want to talk about?"

"Oh yeah," he grinned brightly at her, "I got tickets to the most amazing, unbelievably fantastic--"

"Whoa, whoa, don't use so many adjectives and adverbs in the same sentence-- you might hurt yourself."

His excited state deflated completely and he mocked her with a tongue loll, "It's a monster truck rally. Happy now? "

"Yes, quite." she smiled cheekily.

"You're a total excitement killer, Rae."

"Hm, really?" she took her pillow from under his head and batted him in the face with it.

"Hey, hey! No fair I don't have a pillow!" he cried out.

"Use you head, it's what you're best at right?" she laughed playfully bopping the boy over his head again.

"Whatever Rae!" he laughed tackling her to the bed, and keeping her pinned, "Wanna play kissing tag?"

She tried to wiggle her hands free of his air tight grasp, but she couldn't move an inch, "I don't know about that-- remember what happened last time?"

"Ug, so you accidentally kissed Robin last time-- so what! He's so much your brother it qualifies as incest."

"It's Starfire I'm worried about."

"Hey, I'm sure you could get away with kissing her too if you tried hard enough."

She glowered at him and wriggled a hand free to punch him in the shoulder, "Pervert."

He laughed, "So you wanna come tonight or what? Cyborg and the others are coming too. After I mentioned that I was a Titan, they offered up tickets for free to them too." he paused to wiggle his eyebrows mischievously, "Or we can stay here," he pressed his lips to her ear, "and you can have me all to yourself." he breathed hotly into her neck.

She whimpered in a way that would be considered 'pitiful', albeit for Raven it could only be considered 'rare', "And miss out on 'the most amazing, unbelievably fantastic' truck show?" she smirked while twining her free hand into his stray locks.

He smiled warmly at her, before allowing her up, "Well, better get ready," he crossed the expanse of her room easily, "We'll probably leave in a few hours so we can get the best seats!" his raw excitement returning.

"Okay, see you then." she replied simply. She waited a few minutes before she got up from her bed. Walking briskly down the hallway, she quickly found Starfire's door. She knocked on the metal obstruction hoping that the red head would answer quickly.

"Friend Raven!" she exclaimed at once, dragging the shorter girl in, "You are also going to the Munster Truck Rally?"

"It's 'monster', and yeah." she twiddled her fingers a moment, "I was wondering…I'm worried about--" The alien looked at her expectantly and she tilted her gaze to the side. Raven sighed, "It's so stupid. He accepts so much about me, why should I be worried about hiding it?"

"Are you speaking of 'it' it?" she asked timidly.

"Yeah." she blushed, diverting her gaze. Raven had spoken about the dilemma she was having earlier in the year-- she figured he would've already been trying to get to that point-- and she had always referred to it as 'it' to Starfire-- no matter how confusing that particular term was.

Starfire pressed a contemplative fingertip to her chin, "Well, Friend, put it off as long as you can then. Just tell him you are the uncomfortable, he will understand."

"I hope you're right."

Later that night the Titans all ventured to the Monster Truck Rally. The superhero team sitting in the top row beaming with excitement. And as it was to be expected, Cyborg had invited Bumblebee along at the last minute claiming that he wasn't about to 'spend the night with two couples feeling like a fifth wheel'.

Despite Beast Boy's calm demeanor, Raven could sense that their previous disentanglement was bothering him. He was gripping her hand loosely as they sat on the bleachers waiting for the event to begin. She politely ignored the confused vibe he was giving off.

_What could she possibly be hiding? Maybe it's an excuse?_ he pondered while staring out at the muddy arena. He gripped her hand tighter, _Why does it bother me so much? I'm really curious about what she's hiding from me…_ Of course at this point, his attention was stolen by the vibrant sounds of trucks revving their motors. Sparkles formed in his eyes as he happily bounced up and down in a nervous and excited tremor, and he could swear Starfire was mirroring this motion as she sat next to Robin.

Raven smiled, and tried to at least watch the show. Robin mirrored her idle distaste as he sat next to her, he shouldered her gently, "Hey, it's only a few hours right?"

"Thankfully." she smiled. It was strange to her though, she half figured that Robin would be all for it-- didn't all guys like vehicles and machines? Monster trucks no less? He gave her another contented smile before deferring his attention to the arena, _He just didn't want to feel left out…_ she decided as she watched Starfire animatedly chatting about it next to him, _And because it'll make her happy, _she glanced at Beast Boy, _Just like I know this is making him happy, but still…_

A few of the trucks squealed out onto the muddy terrain with their drivers howling in the wind. Cyborg was caught in the excitement as well and hollered exuberantly despite Bumblebee's protests for sanity.

Later on in the show after a couple of half-hours had passed, a couple of the trucks were experiencing engine trouble. Disheartened and discouraged, the hosts addressed the audience, telling them that it would probably be awhile before they could repair the injuries to the vehicles. At this, Cyborg eagerly volunteered his mechanical know-how in hopes of putting the show back on track as quickly as possible.

After some idle chatter amongst the teens, the conversation lulled and they fell silent. Of course an idle mind has to find something to entertain it, and unfortunately, Beast Boy's mind wandered back to the very thing that had piqued his curiosity before. He glanced at Raven's empty expression and he honestly wondered what she could possibly have to hide from him. He knew all of her secrets-- okay he knew a lot of her secrets-- many of the dark inner workings of the empath that was sitting soundlessly beside him. Maybe he could figure it out subtly?

He disentangled his hand from hers and wrapped it around her waist instead, "Honestly, everything's an excuse to make out for you." she chided in a good-natured way as he warmly pressed his face against hers.

"You know me." he brazenly replied.

He kissed her neck with little recluse-- an intent to focus her attention on his lips solely. She shied away from him, "I'm still a little-- unsure about that much public affection."

He nuzzled her neck, "C'mon Rae, don't be so stiff about everything."

She relaxed a little as he kissed her lips, but she still felt an edge of discomfort in her form. His hands crept oh so stealthily up the sides of her shirt, and slowly down so they could creep under the fabric. She was going to let herself relax into his affection until she realized _why_ he was doing this. She batted his hands away playfully, "Stop it." she coyly demanded, her eyes hot with a cold shoulder to match.

He narrowed his green gaze at her and stuck his tongue out defiantly, "I can't stand it when you hide stuff from me."

"I can't stand it when you blurt our business to the world."

He was about to barb her with a sharp retort, but a sudden declaration stopped him, "It's Beast Boy and Raven!" a girl exclaimed.

Her friends turned to look behind them, "Oh it is! I thought they looked familiar!"

"And they're arguing how dreamy!"

"Dreamy?" the dark-haired girl echoed as though it were a foreign word to her.

The green-haired Titan gave the fangirl an odd look, "What's so great about arguing?"

Raven sighed, "Please, no disrespect, but turn around." she gave them an empty look that rivaled her former self. The girls turned around abruptly, quickly realizing the circumstances of angering Raven of the Titans.

"You're so mean, Ravy." he chuckled tugging her close and giving her an Eskimo kiss, "But I love it."

"That hardly counts as mean." she rolled her eyes, "And please quit feeling up the sides of my shirt."

One of the girls squealed at this, having turned around for one last peek at her favorite implied couple. She snapped a quick picture with her camera phone. Raven pierced her with a dirty glare, "Mind your own business, please." there was nothing friendly about her stance however. The girl squeaked and turned around hot with embarrassment.

He blushed in embarrassment and put his hands respectfully on her hips once more, _Rats… _he groaned, _I'll have to figure this out later…_ his mind mischievously added.

However, he attempted one last time to get her interested in the idea by rubbing her back, and nuzzling her ear, but she rejected it evenly, "I'm not in the mood." she flatly stated, even going so far as to move closer to Robin instead. He deflated and felt shallow in her absence.

Once Cyborg successfully repaired the two malfunctioning monster trucks, the rest of the show proceeded without a hitch, and thankfully enough, there wasn't a crime to report for the rest of the night thereafter (often times, the Titans would receive a late night report). The Titans all arrived home late that night, and Cyborg even later than that as he had escorted Bumblebee to Steel City.

Determination rang in Beast Boy's ears at this point as he and his dark-haired beauty walked down the hallway to her room that night, _I feel naughty for it, but I really want to know! No make that __need__ to know!_

"Good night Beast Boy." she fingered the door carefully. Her gaze drifted upward to meet his dreamy gaze. She knew that look-- she knew that look quite well, "I'm tired." she meagerly offered as his sparkling green eyes continued to plead with her. She bit her lips, _I'll probably kick myself for this later…_ she thought, "Only for a little bit, it's late."

She'd never seen that door pushed away so harshly. He gathered her up in his arms and pounced on top of her once they reached the bed. But after all this was his nature, always fiery and passionate. She always warranted a more calm approach, soothing and still like a cool breeze on a summer day. She complied and wrapped her arms around his neck as their kiss intensified. She knew he was up for something different-- he always was when he possessively bedded her like that.

He groaned as she kissed him in a torturously slow motion, deliberately letting her fingers trail his chest in a dangerously heated manner. His fingers gripped her shoulders with dangerous intent, "Show me, what you're hiding." he huskily demanded in between the brief hair spaces of her kisses.

She took flipped him over so that she could maintain the top position, both of his hands into her own and forced above his head-- typical man move-- as she kissed him more tightly, "Behave. This is for **you** after all."

"Don't act like you don't like it." he retorted as she moved her affection toward his neck.

Her lips moved against his taut neck kissing and nipping. Normally he drove all of the physical advances between them, she reciprocated of course, but it was rare for her to take control like she had. He wiggled a hand free and pushed her closer to him, "You're so far away." he whispered.

She broke their most recent kiss to stare into his eyes with a half-lidded gaze of her own, "Oh," she released his other hand, "I'm sorry I don't trap you under the bed springs." her voice haughty as she trailed her tongue against his ear.

He murmured something incoherently in pleasure, "I'm not that bad am I?"

"You don't have the slightest idea how metal coils feel do you?"

He looked defensive as though she was blaming him for something, "How come you never say anything? How am I--"

She shushed him abruptly, "If you we're hurting me, I'd let you know." she let her lips press against his lazily, letting her tongue dip against his, "It's kinda hot. That's why."

He moaned slightly, as her kissing intensified. Her hands rubbing against his chest in such a wanton manner as she'd never exhibited, "You want to know what I'm hiding, huh?" she asked breathing into his ear as her hips pressed against his, "Do you?" she asked more forcefully when he didn't respond with more than a groan, "If you really want to know, you're going to have to take it from me." She began nibbling his ear, letting her tongue slickly glide against the sensitive appendage, "What's the matter? The talkative B.B.'s suddenly quiet?"

He groaned feeling his throat constrain with a dry and hot desire. He couldn't even speak-- he was too aroused and shocked by her sudden forwardness. But then she experimentally pushed her front against his in what could only be considered a 'grind'.

"Oh Raven!" he exclaimed, as he flipped their positions once more, "Don't tease me." He locked their hips together without a second to breathe, "You're terrible." he hotly replied, giving her a taste of her own medicine. She blushed fire red underneath him. Her back smashed tightly against the bed covers like she normally was during each of their hot escapades. She couldn't even think of anything sharp to reply, especially when he made his arousal known to her.

"Not so hard." she moaned still intoxicated in the deep pleasure he was giving her.

He roughly ran his fingers through her hair, "Sorry, I know how much you like metal springs." he abraded against her more forcefully.

Another rare and piteously pleasured whine escaped her. She tangled her fingers into his hair firmly, "Do it-- a-again-- ple--ase." was all she could demand through her labored breathing.

"Oh, you don't have to tell me that at all." he sounded much clearer despite the husky breathing that fell from his lungs.

He satisfied their desire for that part only a few seconds longer, he knew that it would only result in a mess he wasn't too keen on cleaning up. Her flush red face stared up at him as he sat up lightly on her hips. His hands rubbed her sides in a much gentler fashion as he tried to catch his breath.

She felt him calming; her wave of adrenaline dying in the passion of the moments that had just transgressed. Her fingers were now idly tugging the sheets as she waited to see if he was satiated or not, "Hmm," he hummed at last, letting his fingertips tug on her shirt hem, "I think I know what you're secret is Rae."

White hot embarrassment washed her features, "Y-you do?"

"Yeah," he replied lazier than usual, "You have an awkward birthmark or something huh?"

"Not exactly." she muttered.

"It's okay. I think every bit of you is beautiful-- until I see every bit of you and can make a more accurate evaluation."

She glared at him, "Don't make me pull the springs out of this bed."

"Really? You're going to keep running on that bit?" he lolled his tongue out at her in a mocking fashion. He decided to prolong the mystery just a little longer. He let his hands creep up the edge of her shirt. She took a noticeable inward breath. His fingers grazed an edge of cotton, "Hm I didn't know you liked wearing undershirts."

"You could say that."

Finally, he couldn't wait any longer. A revived focus overtook him; he pulled at her shirt in a meaningful way.

She put her hands over his, "Before you do this, you have to promise not to laugh or make fun."

He blinked in confusion, "Of course not." He pulled on her shirt again and when she didn't object a second time, he pulled it over her head (with some help of course). His eyes grew wide in complete astonishment, "What the--? What is this Raven?"

She blushed hotly, "What do **you** think it is?"

A question mark popped over his head, "You wear a…sports bra under your uniform?"

"Beast Boy, we're superheroes. You don't honestly expect me to prance around in a lacey something or other." her voice completely serious as her eyes seemed to bore into him.

"That's a valid point." he realized, before smoothing his hands over the cotton-y fabric, "It kinda hot." desire welled in his gaze, "No, make that really hot." he rubbed his face against her chest.

She blushed brightly, a small sigh falling from her lips as she fought the urge to push him away again. It had been pretty nerve-racking; she didn't have a real clue as to how he would react to the situation. His teeth gnawed lightly against the bottom edge of her bra, "I don't know why this was such a big secret though-- I like you for who you are, not what you wear." he pressed his face affectionately against hers, "Besides, I'm getting to touch forbidden territory as it is-- that makes it so worth it anyway."

Nervously, she bit her lip. She was very well aware of his every motion-- even more so once she felt his hand smooth over her right breast. They seemed to sigh in unison as his hands curiously and slowly wandered over her chest. She felt kind of slighted at this point however, and when he began fiddling with the back strap of her bra, "Take off your shirt."

"Huh?"

"Take off your shirt-- it's only fair right?" she smoothed her hands over the velvety fabric of his t-shirt.

"Okay," he pulled back a second to sit up on his knees and throw his shirt off in a sweeping motion. He sat that way for a few minutes and relished the bright look of admiration glowing on her face. He flexed his muscles and struck a pose, "Oh yeah baby, I got all the goods."

She rolled her eyes at this, and yanked his body down to be level with hers once more. He growled cutely, "My Raven, I knew I loved you for some reason--" She kneed his side, and he groaned in an exaggerated manner, "Really Rae?"

She quirked a brow at him and they resumed their kissing. He pressed his face into her chest, and let his nose nuzzle each of her curves. He trailed curved lines from each of her nipples, snorting a breath of hot air on each nipple in a way that made her writhe. He paused to let his tongue tip experimentally graze her cool skin. She shivered again, and felt her temperature rising, "You're burning up Rae," he growled, playfully letting his teeth tug at her raised skin.

"You're one to talk," she snorted, running her lithe hand down his bare, steaming back, "I bet I can even get steam to vent from you--" she drew her nails in a cat-like fashion, marking every inch of her territory. He arched his back quickly under her touch and let out a pained half-growl.

He let his fingers draw lower, and lower until the tips grazed her bare belly, "I know we just hit this," he buried his face in her chest, "but would you be okay with going further?" he drew his fingers to the edge of her pant line and tugged on them in a meaningful way.

She bit her lip, _Were things progressing too quickly? I mean normal couples did this sort of thing all the time didn't they?_

TO BE CONTINUED…

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Sorry to leave you all with another cliffy!! 'Nother update soon! :)


	21. December 21st

Okay everyone, I FINALLY got this up. I will reply to reviews I haven't read yet. Happy reading. :)

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**Explain This to Me**

_**December 21st 2007 8:09:34 am**_

_**I had the strangest dream yesterday-- I dreamt that Raven actually made sense for once in her life.**_

_Okay I think I can do this, _the dark-haired girl told herself as she pushed her teammate's door open. She crept onto the edge of his bed. Yesterday, when they had woken him up, her mind had picked up on parts of the changeling's dream. Even though the other day had been tumultuous, she figured that this was the key to convincing him that she was serious the other day, and that she really intended to stick by it.

Her hand slid up his side, "Bea--"

Fast as lightning, his hands grabbed her wrists and flipped her over. He pinned her harshly to the bed. With a feral look in his eyes, he stared her down, an edge lingering in his voice, "Taking advantage of sleeping people again, I see."

She winced slightly as his grip tightened-- there was nothing romantic about the scene she'd managed to paint for herself, "I-- ow--" she emphasized the last syllable with a glare in her eyes, "You had a dream about this yesterday--" he released her abruptly and let her tumble off the side of the bed, "I don't see how this is any different." she grumbled, standing up and brushing herself off.

He sighed, "If only you'd read my mind earlier than that, maybe you'd have a clue."

"I'm sorry." she relented, giving him a gentle look.

He smiled, "Don't worry about it."

"Really?" she warranted him a suspicious look.

"You've changed your mind again, and it's okay, because I'm over it, and I'm over you." he pushed himself off of the bed, and walked towards the closet.

"What…I'm confused?" she stared at him curiously.

"Join the club," he threw open his closet doors, and pulled out his uniform, "Don't worry, I'm still attracted to you, but I don't think I can trust you with the rest of me." he tugged off his pajama bottoms.

A sharp barb stuck in her heart, but she'd seen this coming, it was only a matter of time before crying 'wolf' would get her into trouble, "I'm sorry, and when you're ready to accept what I've said to you-- I'll be waiting." briskly, she disappeared from his room.

_**Ug, I'm glad I didn't fall for that bit again…**_

"No, no, no, no. Don't even try any of your little mind tricks on me. I don't believe you for a second." he replied, running his fingers through his hair so roughly it looked as though he'd tear it out, "You're a tease, and I'm tired of it. So let's just do the mission together, and then we can worry about **your** head trauma later."

"Mine!? Beast Boy--" she grumbled with a narrowed gaze as they walked the cold city streets.

"Don't even. I mean it." he pointed an accusatory finger at her, "I've had enough of the head trips, and the 'emotional' rollercoaster. I'm getting off now-- thanks for the worst ride of my life." his voice was so overdramatic, he could've been in a screenplay of The Birds.

"Beast Boy--" she reiterated with more force this time.

"Nope. Don't even say it!" he pointed at her again, giving her a serious and narrow look. It was strange to her, however, his words and actions conveyed seriousness, but his tone was surprisingly light.

"I--"

"No. Nooo."

"But I--"

He placed a hand over her mouth, "Shhhh, were on a mission Raven. Riona could be anywhere and--"

"So help me!" she exclaimed, pushing his hand away and glaring at the paranoid boy, "I'm sorry alright!? I can't help it if I've never felt this way before. So quit hassling me about it."

"Raven," he warranted her another serious and disbelieving look, "We both know you don't mean that, and that a few hours later, you're going to change your mind."

"Listen you little rain cloud," she angrily retorted, "I just want to put this all behind us. I just want to be with you, save the city, and go home alive. Okay? Is that so much to ask?"

"Yes; yes it is." he folded his arms in sarcastic aggravation.

"Do you even hear yourself?"

"Do you?" he quipped giving her a dry and irritated look much akin to the one _she usually _gave him.

"I give up." she groaned rubbing her temples.

"That's a first." he replied evenly as they continued to press ahead.

_Must not-- kill! _she grumbled as pressure point formed on her forehead. She let out an exasperated sigh, but frankly, she couldn't blame him. She'd practically leapt on his heartstrings like a trampoline. She sighed again, and continued walking down the street-- she'd have to find another way to convince him-- but that would be later-- much later.

He continued to walk at a brisk pace to keep her from catching back up to him again. She slowly found herself falling behind, normally she would've glided but she was saving her strength. She huffed a few moments before calling out to him, "Beast Boy--" he pretended not to hear her and continued searching for what they were looking for, she stumbled over her tired feet.

The slight shifting of her footing caused her viewpoint to change. Pausing to catch her much needed breath, she let her gaze drift to her left hand side. It was an alleyway much like the others spread about the city. However, just when she was ready to turn away and catch up to her companion, a chattering grey rat bounded up the stack of empty wooden boxes. She warranted it a simple glance, before doing a double take and realizing the obvious and unnatural animal that had presented itself to her. A chilling realization fell into her ever-present consciousness, "They're rats…real rats!"

More of the vile beasties came into view and sat up on the rubbish piles and other trash that was gathered in the alleyway. A strange glowing aura surrounded them and made them shine in an unnatural hue of gold-- almost blindingly so.

Normally she didn't mind the rats. They were pretty harmless in general, especially in winter, but as more and more snow fell around them she realized that these were no ordinary rats. They were under a spell and immune to the cold that normally drove them underground (a.k.a. the sewers). Raven also remembered Starfire telling them about her struggle with a real live panther.

She glided down the street as quickly as she could; dodging and weaving in between the obstructions in her way. She caught up with the changeling and overcame his pace to stand in front of him. He narrowed his gaze at her, "Come on Rae, don't lag behind." he tried to shrug past her, but she continued to block him from doing so, "Get out of my way." he demanded, giving her an irritated look.

In that fragile moment she could've dragged him by his ears, "I've _**found**_ what we've been looking for," she bit out while pulling out her communicator, "Raven calling Robin-- you need to see this."

His jaw dropped, "You found the rats."

"More like they found me," her worried eyes met his, "and it's worse than you can even imagine…"

---

"Citizens are in total disbelief as an outbreak of sickness ravages the city--"

Click.

"We always have a bad cold during the first winter snow," one citizen commented, as a tear dripped from his eye, "but never an illness like my little girls caught."

Click.

"Doctors and scientists are scrambling to study the fatal disease, and with a cure nowhere in sight, things are looking grim for Jump City. Ten have been reported dead already."

Cyborg dropped the remote at that-- and the wrench in his other hand for that matter-- His throat feeling incredibly dry. It took him a few moments before he could will his body to move again. He clicked to the weather channel, "It looks like it's going to be a white Christmas this year," the chipper weather lady reported while pointing towards her chart, "Snow, snow, and more snow! Nothing short of winter storm for this weekend and probably late into next week." she paused a second as the charts changed, "The next couple of days are going to be freezing so make sure to bring your jackets!"

He clicked the television off. Cyborg bit his lip, "She couldn't have planned this more perfectly. A snow storm that traps everyone inside-- a disease no one's ever seen before--" he pulled out his recently repaired communicator pad, "Cyborg calling Titans. We have a serious problem on our hands…"

---

The plump, grey rat chattered in fear as he nervously rested in Riona's open palm, "Don't be afraid little one," she placed a little flea on his back that quickly attached to the animal, "This will only hurt a second." her voice, however calm, still held a whimsy of her sadistic nature.

She stroked his head idly as the rat slowly slipped into a trans-like state and fell under her spell of servitude and submission. The sounds of wheezing and scrambling claws drew her attention to the doorway as her companion crawled up the stairs. She narrowed her calm gaze, "Dieter, did you--?"

"No, Highness," he wheezed, dragging his tired form across the cobblestone floor that looked very much like a castle's floor, his clothing torn and slash marks that scored the expanse of his body, "He's still alive."

Angrily she tossed the rat aside, (which landed with a disgruntled squeak) and advanced towards the tired wolf, "You disappoint me again, and have the nerve to come back?"

He winced at her sharp words, "It's too cold to be bleeding out there." he begrudgingly growled, hastily he added, "Heal me, and I'll go back out for you."

She seemed to be contemplating her answer. She waved her hands over him in a sparkling blue. She sighed in an overloud manner, "Have you become so weak that you can't even defeat him in a magic-less state? Honestly--"

"I will not underestimate him again," he pushed himself from the ground, "You will need to summon more animals however, he killed them all."

"And then you ran away!" she turned a sharp and disapproving eye upon him.

_Not exactly…_ he grumbled to himself, "You can't do this alone. You need me and you know it." he stood only a space away from her, "We have too many enemies as it is, we don't need to fight each other. So trust me when I say-- I will get to him."

Riona gave him another disbelieving glance, and turned away, "Wait until nightfall then. You're no good to me dead, and it'll take awhile to bring back my pets."

He snorted in reply and disappeared from her sight. But as he descended the stairs he remembered how Altair had hesitated in killing him that frail second…

_Altair claws gleamed blue in the pale moonlight as he prepared to bash them into his fellow quadruped, but something in the ancient beast made him hesitate. Dieter scrambled away, his tired claws tearing up the pavement as his feet carried him far away, but not before the gryphon had his last say, "I will find you. And tell Riona, that she's next. I won't hesitate any longer."_

_The wolf continued dashing away feeling like a coward. He knew his master would be none too pleased. He also realized that his foe wouldn't be following him that night, not until he was at full strength once more. And then an idea crossed the lupine's mind; despite the fact that he followed orders diligently, that didn't mean he didn't have a mind of his own. Altair will be looking for fire to soak himself in, the wolf reasoned, if I can prevent him from doing so-- alone, I probably can't-- but I know that there are still some animals left on the other side of town… _

_Quickly, the overlarge wolf bounded away toward the east side of town in search of the rest of his army…_

Dieter shivered a bit when he thought about how empty the gryphon's eyes truly looked. Dieter wasn't afraid-- he was never afraid-- just confused. How could something so emotionless be so prone to helping others? Dieter knew that Altair had sought out their adversaries because he was weakened and needed a solid defense to hide behind while he healed-- which he found in the Titans-- but now that the foul beast had recovered his age old strength, would he still side with the teen heroes?

_Unlikely, Altair is selfish,_ the wolf mused, taking a moment to scratch behind his ear, _This should prove very interesting…_

---

"You have found the rats?" Starfire asked, for whatever reason, she'd come into possession of Robin's communicator. She floated high above the city streets with her green eyes wandering.

"Isn't Robin with you?" Beast Boy asked, his voice still on edge.

"Yes, I am standing guard while he speaks with them." she replied simply, pointing downward, with her hair sliding about as she spoke, her gaze still seemed to warily drift about however.

"Standing guard?"

"Yes, we've run into quite a few-- of the creatures." she glided downwards, gracefully landing on the doorstop. Robin walked out at that moment with an irritated slouch in his form, "You have found the information?"

He shook his head in distaste, "They don't know a thing. They said that their children woke up with that illness. They haven't even been outside this winter weather." he narrowed his gaze, "They've never had a pest problem before either."

---

The mythical being groaned to himself as he sat perched atop a hill overlooking the city. He was quietly healing himself from the nasty wounds he'd incurred from the night before. He narrowed his gaze at the green slash marks that had been left on his pelt, _Well, my fur __**was**__ a nice color…_ he snorted and patiently waited for his body to fully wake up. He'd found the fire bath he'd been looking for, but at a very steep price. The wounds that adorned his pelt made him feel more exhausted than he ever had. Resting his head upon the soft grass, he let his mind wander, _I must get back to the Titans…they have to stop her…_

---

Raven and Beast Boy stayed put while Robin and Starfire headed towards their location. Cyborg had spoken with them all briefly about the state of the city, and the fact that they all need to act quicker than ever to stop it.

But as the two waited in a sickly silence, the snow started to fall heavier around them. Raven shivered slightly at this. Despite the fact that she had her winter garb on, it just seemed like it wasn't enough to stand up to the cold. She glanced at her companion-- who normally would be shivering like crazy-- but he stood stoically without complaint.

---

At the last second a remarkable benefactor intervened and took the blow full on, the electricity flowed through its body, and channeled it downward into the pavement with a swift tail jerk. Raven's eyes fluttered open quickly, "Beast Boy?"

The gryphon turned his head to stare at her, "You're mistaken young sorceress, it is I, Altair."

"Altair…" she seethed, raising her fist in dark energy, "I don't need your help."

"This isn't just about you anymore!" he replied flatly, "You've seen what she's done to your city, and now there is only one way to stop it."

Raven sprang to her feet in a heated burst, "I trusted you, and this is what I get for it!" she raised a dark fist to mythical creature once more, her eyes ablaze with righteous fury.

Altair padded backward a few steps, "Listen to reason--"

The gryphon barely got a word out before she attacked him full force. With wave after wave of scraps she'd retrieved from the nearby alleyway. Tossing them at him almost blindly, as he darted throughout the projectiles. Finally, one beamed the majestic creature in the head which in turn made him flop downward onto the pavement mid-flight. Altair smacked into the ground and left a rather wide pothole in his wake.

Shaking a light dizziness from his head, he glared at the girl and approached her with a rage-filled gaze, "You're going to wish you hadn't done that…"

A distraught expression flashed in the dark-haired girl's eyes for a moment, but was soon replaced with a determined one, "You don't frighten me…" there seemed to be a growl in her voice-- Beast Boy would be smirked from afar, _Hmm, I would stick around to see this, but the young one doesn't have a chance against Altair…_ in a flash the dark-hearted sorceress disappeared from view so that she could finish with the rest of her plan.

Raven and Altair were oblivious to fact however, caught up in their own spat. Altair swished his tail threateningly at the young girl, his wings flustered into a display of frustrated aggression, "I go through the trouble of bringing myself back into this forsaken world," he squawked indignantly, spitting a glob of acid her way, "and I have to deal with ungrateful brats like you--" She dodged to the side as he continued.

"Some ally you are!" she shot at him, impatiently chucking a trashcan at her opponent before falling backwards over a stray pile of rubble. She remained unmoved even though her senses were screaming for her to run, fly, attack, disappear-- something! But she stared silently at the approaching danger-- dumbstruck.

The trash can glanced off to one side of him, however, "We gryphons slaved to make this forsaken planet what it is today, and this is the gratitude we get. I will not let the work of my ancestors be spat upon and destroyed!" he hissed, breathing out a puff of steam with a whip of fire coiling out soon after.

Altair's eyes glowed an eerie color in that moment, he'd immobilized that stupid wolf Dieter, and slaughtered most of his ghost army-- taking out an young girl would be a piece of cake…but something in his heart made the furious creature halt his affront, his eyes met her determined ones-- a glint of fear hid within them-- _Altair, come help me in the garden! _Riona's child-aged voice rang in his ears-- her once innocent smile clouding his vision.

"I can't do it. It's not in my heart…" his wings folded once more, and his feathers fell back into place. He backed up a pace, letting his head droop, "I am sorry," he sighed, allowing the girl to rise to her feet again.

Raven nervously rose upward. Uncertainty pricked at her form as she stared at the confusing gryphon. Altair was about to speak again, but another form came barreling into his side, knocking him flat, "How dare you try to hurt Raven!" Beast Boy growled, as a human for a moment before reclaiming his gryphon form.

Raven hurriedly stepped between them, "He didn't hurt me, he intercepted Riona's attack. And I became angry with him--" she looked away, "It's my fault."

The changeling returned to human form, "No matter what you said, he shouldn't have attacked you if he was really our ally." he glared suspiciously at the ancient beast.

"Believe what you want-- no matter your issue-- the fact still remains; your city is in grave danger." Altair cut in, shaking his form clean of dirt and rubble.

_**Tell me something I don't know! **_

"Alright," Beast Boy huffed, folding his arms, "what do you suggest?"

"You're going to trust him, just like that?" Raven interjected, glancing at him sideways.

"What choice do we have?"

"Let's go then," Altair spoke, "We don't have a moment to loose!"

"Wait--" she breathed.

His pale gaze speaking with hers. A flash of uncertainty and resentment hit her gaze. She gingerly took his hands, "We have to trust each other, and I won't feel strong enough until you accept what I've said to you."

His pale and worn eyes met hers, "We don't have a choice anymore. Everyone's relying on us to fix what she's broken."

Altair glared at the two, couldn't they see that their city's life was more important than a teenage love?

"Do you love me, or not?" the green-eyed boy countered, his intense gaze piercing her own, "Do you even like me? I'd settle for that."

Her heart thumped wildly with the strum of a thousand different rhythms, "Do you even have to ask? If you don't know by now, then I've wasted my time." she bit out harshly, quickly mentally scolding herself as soon as the words left her mouth, _What's wrong with me!? Why is this so hard… _her mind sighed.

There must have been some strange flicker in the dark-haired girl's eyes, for he didn't answer as she supposed he would, "Now _**that's **_the Raven I know," he smiled warm-heartedly, hugging her tight, much to her surprise. Briefly, she breathed in his sweet scent, relishing the fragile moment. A million different memories flooded into her mind, the strong churning emotions she felt-- she soon realized that those were his feelings washing over her.

All of the things they had gone through together were flashing behind his determined eyes, _He doesn't think we're going to make it out of this alive…_ her mind instantly realized, _And what if he's right? What if this is the end of the Titans?!_

"Please," Altair seemed to plead in a demanding voice that couldn't be denied and a tone that clearly stated he wouldn't wait any long for the two. His wings fluttered outward, and flushed into their full extent. Emerald sparkles made fresh by the faint noon sun reflected off of his wings causing an unusual renewed sense of urgency to the situation.

Still in a startled state of mind, she stared into his determined eyes, he tightened his grip on her hand, and let his gaze drift towards hers again, a familiar warmth dancing behind them, "Let's go."

_**Sometimes I wonder what will happen, if we don't make it back…Jump City without the Titans-- what kind of sad painting would that be?**_

* * *

Any reviews are more than welcome. I hope you enjoyed it, and there will be another chapter up eventually. Thanks for reading!


	22. December 21stlater

Sorry this took forever. Hopefully those who are left will enjoy. :)

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic_ thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

Hopefully that'llkeep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

* * *

**Explain This to Me**

**December 21st 2007 10:00:01 pm**

_**Night hangs heavy overhead as we creep through the underbrush…**_

"Stick together," Robin whispered to his teammates, glancing over his shoulder, his eyes piercing each of their gazes in turn, before it rested upon Starfire's, "We only have a small window of time-" a harsh sneeze interrupted his words.

Fear shot across the auburn-haired alien's face, "Robin," she whispered tenderly, a gentle hand upon his face," are you-"

"I'm fine." he shook it off, "This is our only chance of bringing Riona down. I'm sure that she has all kinds of patrols out and about, so keep a sharp eye." Robin continued to slink through the underbrush with one of his legs seemingly limp under his weight. This did not go unnoticed by his companions.

"Maybe I should lead," Cyborg piped up, "I have a map of the island after all."

Robin passed a critical eye over his friend as though the half metal-man was supposing there was a weakness buried in their dark-haired leader, but he seceded without argument. He fell back a pace, allowing the others to crawl ahead. Crawling wasn't exactly the easiest way to travel, but after Raven's more recent power short circuits, it seemed more logical to travel that way. Raven had mentioned that using her magic would probably trigger a sensor in Riona's mind- if she hadn't sensed them already.

_**I hadn't really let anyone know about it, but my senses seemed to be alternately fading. My sight is kinda hazy right now. And my nose is really sore...**_

Beast Boy held back a moment and let Raven pass. He reluctantly fingered the end of her cloak. She passed a glance over her shoulder with a questioning look in her eyes. His foggy gaze just met hers, and she sighed as though she knew. Beast Boy had been touched by Altair's power when the gryphon brought himself back to life, and as Starfire's story foretold, he was never going to be the same again. But that was obvious to the green-eyed boy, he'd imagined that he'd passed up 'normal' a long time ago. Beast Boy nearly tumbled over a high growing root, but Raven grabbed his hand and tugged him around it.

"You can't see again?" she whispered while drawing him close to her side.

"Barely.." he grumbled.

She reached forward and drew the boy to her form, "Just stay by my side." she placed an awkward kiss on his forehead before following after their teammates.

After an hour or so of traveling across the vast island, the teens were beginning to lose their stamina and resolve, "Hungry..." Starfire found herself muttering, as she rubbed her stomach and looked forlornly at her companions.

Cyborg glanced at his map, and Robin leaned over his arm to look also, "I should've known better." he groaned, "This map has been leading us in circles the whole time!"

"That's not possible." Raven pipped in, "We would've noticed if we were really going in circles."

"I'm not so sure." Robin broke in, as though he'd just figured it out, he pointed to the plants just up ahead of them. And as if on cue, a few of the ghostly animals appeared from the foliage and the surrounding area changed as the inhabitants left.

Disheartened, the team decided to take a short break and resume their mission momentarily. As they sat, Cyborg broke the silence, "Hey Raven, where's Altair? I thought he was the one supposed to be leading us there."

"He was," she sighed, "but he said that he needed to find something else before we could really win again. He told me that we would find her castle when we were meant to, and not before." a dark look passed over her features, "I'll be glad when we're through with that gryphon..."

A small laugh broke out between her teammates, "Now you know how we feel!" Robin joked, "Sometimes." he quickly added when she glared daggers at him.

"Like he's one to talk..." Beast Boy and Cyborg seemed to snort almost at the same time.

A moment later, Beast Boy suddenly over come with exhaustion, rested his head against Raven's shoulder and fell into a deep sleep. Raven passed another calculating gaze over her friend. A deep sigh riddled in her chest, "This is another reason why I'm angry with Altair." Starfire seemed more interested at that moment, and nodded for her to continue. The other two boys were listening, but found it strange that the forest they were traipsing through was deadly quiet.

"The last time Altair spoke with me before he went to find this unsaid object..."

"_Altair, where are you going? Were you the one going on about the importance of stopping Riona immediately?" Raven questioned, blocking the gryphon's exit._

_He stared at her with an empty gaze for a moment, before his defenses fell down, "The story I told you about why I couldn't stop Riona is not the truth."_

"_I'm waiting." she tapped her foot._

"_It's embarrassing!" he hissed at her impatience, "It's not that I didn't kill Riona because I mentally couldn't, it was because I physically was beaten. In shambles even, the human kind turned a blind eye to her treachery and killed me instead- the 'true monster' as they put it." he sighed, "One of our kind had recently betrayed a British patriarch. He deemed us fit to be hunted and killed just like the dragons before us. I think that had a lot to do that." he puffed out his chest, "Upon my honor, I am required to aide those in revenge of my brethren's demise. Besides, I am going to need something to trap her away forever unlike last time. And it is crucial- I must travel far, and I don't have a lot of time in which to get it."_

_He fluttered his wings and ran past her in big rush of wind throwing this over his shoulder, "You will find her castle when you are meant to, and please remember to hold her off as long as possible. I will return soon."_

Raven sighed and added, "He told me that Riona's true plan is to exterminate the town is so she can re-pollinate the earth into nature so her animal pets to live and thrive in, and he figured eventually she would branch out to the world. But even if she did, our city would be enough."

"Typical," Beast Boy suddenly put in, "Can't these villains leave the whole 'take over the world' thing alone?"

"Well don't plan on that ever happening." Robin pipped, "So team, who wants to proceed?"

_**Oh no Hell's freezing over! Robin's actually putting it up for a vote...that's a first.**_

The Titans glanced amongst each other, "I think we should rest and press ahead in a couple hours." Raven, who was normally first to speak, suggested.

A few of the others nodded, "Alright then," Robin agreed, "Well rest here, but someone needs to take watch."

"I will." Cyborg offered immediately, "I need to make some last minute tweaks to the weapons anyway."

Starfire looked as though she'd announce something, but instead, she glanced towards Robin and whispered in his ear. He nodded and motioned for her to follow him, "We'll be back in a moment."

Once the pair had been withdrawn from the group, Starfire hugged him tenderly, "Is it really safe to stop?"

"No." he replied bluntly, a foreign hurt in his face.

"I am-" her voice disappeared as if in defeat.

But in quick upset, there was huge earthquake the split the ground into two. The Titans were all caught off guard and disappeared into the Earth...

_** There was a time in my life when Insecurity was my only true enemy. I constantly had to battle my own demons; Am I strong enough? Am I fast enough…**_

Clear glossy eyes emerged from the depth of a bush; the gem-like shine the only difference in hue when compared to the leaves of the plant. He nudged his companion, and flicked his gaze to her and then in the direction of a nearby clump of brush.

_** Will the others ever see me as I see me?**_

Soundlessly, the pair crept across the small clearing. He gripped her hand tightly as though she would get lost without his guidance, and continued their cautious trek through the sandy forest.

_** How I wish it was the only problem I have left; Internal conflict is only the death of a state of mind, not of complete stature, or of the body- at least that's how Raven puts it anyway. But now- I've never seen her in such a fragmented state of mind.**_

She hesitated a moment, which resulted in an urgent tug from him. He gave her a pointed look as though trying to mentally scold her. The dark-haired girl merely shot him a warning look. They crouched in the bushes breathing in deep, soundless breaths. Normally the two preferred to travel under the protection of nightfall. But even night could prove treacherous; a terrible and large beasts was allowed to roam about with no direction whatsoever.

The creature was unknown to the pair for they naturally distanced themselves from it. They always knew when it was passing by because it made a dreadful crow-like howl. He prepared himself to move on again; a tug on his arm prevented him from doing so. Glancing down at her tired form, and into her forlorn gaze, he spoke, "Rae, we can't stay here. I know you're tired," he paused to refocus his sun-blinded sight, "But we have to find shelter."

She tugged on his arm again before allowing herself to drop to the ground, "I can't go on like this. I've been weak hearted ever since our last fight with Riona." and then a quiet, but pained squeak escaped her, as she drew her hand over her shin.

To her surprise, he placed a gentle hand onto the dark purple tinted bruise that dominated her shin. Tracing his fingertips across it, "It doesn't look all that bad. I can probably find a hot spring for that until you're rested enough to heal yourself."

She gave him an appreciative smile, "Can you smell now?"

Experimentally, he twitched his nose, trying to pick up any traces of scent that didn't include the salty sea breeze, or leafy palm fronds, "Sorta." he replied before sneezing.

_** I'm beyond fed up with this ridiculous sorceress. I mean, how cruel is the Earth to even behold a power like hers? She's the reason we've been crippled and separated. Raven seems to get worse everyday. She gets these faraway looks, like she can see something I can't. And what's worse still, is she's gotten significantly- what's the word- clingy…If that's even possible for her. I think it's some sort of side-effect of the magic or something because I've found my senses failing. I never know what I'm going to be able to do, or not do next. And I'm a bit cranky too- but that's probably because we're stranded on this Godforsaken island…**_

_** …Man Gamestation 2 would be AWESOME right now…**_

"Here Raven," he extended his arms, and lifted her bridal style, "I'll carry you some of the way."

"I can walk on my own." she protested but relaxed into his embrace.

_** But I can tell she's fighting it like I am. We both know that we can't give up when we're so close to our foe's lair.**_

Cautiously he picked his way through the forest constantly vigil as though an animal would crash through the bushes at any moment. He cradled her firmly, but comfortably to his strong chest.

_** I'm not happy that we're half-injured, but I don't mind looking after her. In fact, why would I turn down a chance to touch my Raven? : p**_

_** Great. I'm distracted again.**_

"Is the spring far from here?" her voice broke through his thoughts.

"Huh?" he shook more impure thoughts away, "Yeah, it's a little way that way- behind those trees." he flicked his ears at an angle to denote the direction they would be taking.

"Why don't we take a straight path?" she wondered aloud, loosing her grip around his neck and letter her hand absently tangle in the frayed ends of his hair.

_** I really don't understand it, but I really love it when she does that. It's so perfectly wonderful…**_

"I can scent some animals that recently passed that way. It's better if we skirt around that part of the woods, and go the long way to the spring." he reasoned, stepping over a few of the upturned tree roots that lined their path.

"Oh I guess I'll…" she trailed off, and then a tiredness washed over her. Slipping into a half-sleep, she nestled herself against his warm body.

_** I guess she was thinking about trying to send another signal call to the other Titans, and then she realized that we're the only two that haven't been captured by Riona- because I've been thinking about calling them for days. I guess it still hasn't hit me yet.**_

Sighing, he finally pushed past a curtain of willow brambles. He thought for a moment he had been wrong in his calculations, but sure enough a tiny hot spring was steaming and bubbling under the shade of a grand willow tree. He groaned, _Nothing here makes sense! Who ever heard of palm trees growing by willows and pines?...well and who's ever heard of a forest underneath a forest?_

He set her down at the base of the tree before staring at the steaming pool, _And now this- s hot spring by a willow tree! It looks safe though…_ he glanced back to his companion; Deciding that she was too far asleep to be bothered again, he sat next to her and pulled her so close that her head rested against his chest.

_** Rae is really coming around. I think she's finally beginning to trust herself enough to be mentally and physically close to others. Comfortable enough in her own skin, to maybe even want to be close to me…**_

Silently, he sat vigil until she woke an hour later. Yawning, she looked up at him and glanced over at the spring again. He gave her a longing gaze, "Feeling better?"

"Yes- do you think the spring is safe?" she turned away from his intense gaze to look at the bubbling depths.

"Is anything here safe?" he grumbled, "It's worth a shot, but let me test it first." she looked ready to protest, but he was already walking towards it.

"It's just a bruise Beast Boy. I'll get better." she breathed despondently; fearful of what may happen to him.

He whipped around to face her and held a stick for her to see, "I've got it covered Raven. So just trust me already!" she looked at him rigidly before releasing an angry huff while he dipped the end of the stick into the water. Pulling the stick back out of the water, the two saw that half the stick had been eaten away in only a few seconds, "I thought it smelled odd." he mused tossing the stick aside.

Disappointment bounced about her features, "I'm sorry you know. I thought I was doing the right thing." she looked at him as though she might shatter before his eyes. Altair's words echoing in her mind, _I thought I was doing the right thing…_

_** Once again, her insecurities are shining through. And even though that's not very much like her, it's comforting in a way because it shows that she's starting to become more comfortable with relying on others.**_

"I know. But I told you messing with a magic so dangerous would put us all in a sticky situation. You're so responsible all the time that's why I don't understand it…" he trailed off, and took a seat next to her again.

"I told you that I wanted to do the right thing. I thought it was our only counter," her voice borderline shrill, "I don't know what else to say to make it better. You were right- is that what you wanted to hear?"

He felt waves of guilt washing over him. She had a million different clashing feelings all at once. And quit frankly, she was tired of his ever shifting mood; from protective, to reflective, and then snippy- like a perpetual rain cloud was floating over his head reflecting his stormy demeanor.

"I know I've been hard on you about this," he sighed, "and I know that's not fair to you-"

"No it's not." she interjected.

He furrowed his brows, "But I just keep wondering if maybe-"

"We can't keep looking back." she rested a hand on his shoulder, "We just have to right what I've wronged- or I'll never forgive myself." her voice retaining a fragment of calm monotone.

_** Great, now's she's making me feel like a jerk. I was trying to look out for her-**_

_** but eh…**_

He pulled her close, and left a kiss on her forehead, "Alright, we'll keep moving forward." he rose to his feet, "Can you walk?"

"Yes." she sharply replied, "I don't need you carrying me everywhere."

"That's not what you were saying a few hours ago- 'Hold me Beast Boy!'." he mocked with a laugh on the end.

"Next time I'll remember not to say anything to you about being cold. Ever." she grumbled, stalking past him.

He snickered again, "I'm sorry Rae! Don't do this to me!" he exclaimed while he walked after her.

"Now is not the time." she retorted.

_** Okay, so maybe she's not one hundred percent okay with replying on others' but then again I probably shouldn't tease her about it either. : D**_

They continued their trek up the perilous hillside. Weaving their way through the trees they finally made it to the base of the mountain. The two paused to stare up at it in awe, "I wonder where the others are- we really need to be together to face this." Raven spoke as though she were alone.

"You and me both." Beast Boy gulped.

_**That mountain is a beast...and who knows what else lay in wait for us..**_


	23. December 22nd

Sorry this didn't get up sooner, for the longest time FF wasn't letting me upload my stories. :/ Okay, back in action finally kicked the writer's block and had enough time to write it. Sorry if it seems a bit rushed, but I am way past ready for it to be finished and I'm so sorry that all of you have had to wait so long for this to get put up. :/ I hope you enjoy it anyway. :)

Plain writing 3rd person omni.

_Italic_ thoughts

_Italic followed by dots or the like..._ Flashback sequence

Hopefully that'llkeep everything clear.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE, OR FORM OWN OR CLAIM TEEN TITANS AS MY OWN WORK. THEY BELONG TO DC COMICS, WARNER BROTHERS, AND CARTOON NETWORK.

* * *

**Explain This to Me**

_**December 22nd 2007 12:05:53 am**_

_**Dark creatures tail us in the darkness. We still haven't caught sight of our comrades, and still no sign of Riona's lair.**_

Beast Boy tripped over a large root in his efforts to sprint away from the creatures. There just proved to be too many to fight, but in a case like this, he might make an exception. Raven turned harshly over her shoulder sending obsidian shock waves of aura at the beasts. Four of them were flung backward, while three more leapt upward. Beast Boy sprung up as a wolf growling and snapping.

His giant paws threw back throws of them. Another vicious snarl let loose from his lips dripping with salvia. Some of the creatures decided to make a hasty retreat, but still more seemed to take their place. Beast boy stomped his foot ready to pounce again, but another force cut him off. The scream of a birdarang cut through the night sky. The two teens turned to look behind them. Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg came crashing through the foliage. The creatures finally decided that a hasty retreat was wisest, "That'll show them." Beast Boy snorted proudly.

"Any word from Altair?" Robin cut off any smart retort Raven might have formed in reply to Beast Boy's smugness.

"Not a glistening." she answered dryly.

"No matter." he replied sharply, "The Titans East finally got our distress signal."

The team nodded, their understanding as the Titans East magically seemed to appear from the darkness. (Lol :p) A silent exchange seemed to pass between the gathering of Titans. Every Titan knew what was expected of them, and as their gazes shifted towards the looming mountain, a dark feeling of dread and purpose filled them up.

"Cyborg believes that the lair is actually hidden beneath the mountain." Robin continued.

"Oh, a mountain, that's ORIGINAL." Beast Boy smartly remarked.

He earned a dark look from the rest of the group. After formulating a well-structured plan, the teams began to trudge through the foliage once more. Cyborg held his arm out to calculate the distance from their position, to the lair. The others all fell in behind Robin and Cyborg keeping silent through the thick grass. Starfire had trailed behind a moment, and a familiar face sauntered next to her, "Miss me, hot stuff?"

"Go away, Speedy." she grumbled, folding her arms.

"But I-"

He tried to persist but Cyborg stepped between them allowing Starfire to hurry ahead. The half-metal titan glared at his fellow teammate a moment before continuing ahead with the others.

* * *

Finally after the endless traveling, the teens found the mountain's base. Raven created a dark void that allowed her teammates to pass through the mountain's side into a deep cavern. Wonder bemused their faces for a moment as they stared into the vast darkness of the cave, with crystals and stalactites all around.

"Just like our cave." Beast Boy whispered to Raven, nudging her gently.

Raven gave him a smirk-like smile and pressed ahead with the group.

Suddenly, a darkness deeper than the cave itself swallowed the teens up whisking them away into an unknown fate…

"Thought you could just storm the castle eh?" a gruff voice spoke, "You've fallen right where we needed you to."

Robin's eyes opened slowly to reveal the form of Dieter standing in the middle of the machine-like room. Dark and grey, both his captor and his prison cell. Robin glared at the haughty wolf, and took a calculating glance around the room. He was alone, and all of his weapons confiscated. His arms and legs chained to the wall. He felt a twinge of anxiousness as the wolf turned away from him.

"I bet you're wondering where your friends are." he seemed to growl, "Too bad, their fate is as sealed as the rest of you." he took another step towards the doorway, "As is your city."

"What's happened to Jump City! It's bubonic plague isn't it? That's what's killing them." Robin finally bit out.

"Very clever, but you're only half right. It's actually a mutated strain of the virus. Completely resistant to any antibiotic, antiviral, or antimicrobial your city or country might have."

A chord of fear and sadness struck the boy- what if there was nothing that could be done to save Jump City? And even worse, what would happen to them? Was Riona going to kill them too? Well that was a stupid thought- of course she was going to kill them…unless he could act fast.

* * *

"Is everything in position?" Riona asked into the darkness.

"Of course, master." he snarled excitedly.

"Let's go."

* * *

**I awoke with a start- my head pounded- thick with worry and fatigue. Placing a hand on my forehead, I struggled to grip my bearings.**

Beast Boy glanced over to his side, and there was Raven in a container next to him. He looked downward and around, realizing that he too was also trapped within a glass like tube. He attempted to break it by charging his shoulder into the glass. It didn't break, or even budge. But his shoulder certainly was pounding then.

**Damn, I should've known better than that.**

The green-eyed boy began glancing around the room with a calculating stare, searching for something that would free them from their prison. He heaved a deep sigh, the only thing he could be grateful for was that his senses seemed to have returned to normal. _But what can I do? How can we get out of this mess? _

A jolt of electricity crashed onto Beast Boy, his body convulsed and twisted in a sick manner. He body flopped limply into the bottom of the jar. If he'd had been conscious at the time, he would've seen the shocking horror of a green animal sitting in a tube a little way away from him.

An evil laugh flitted down the stairs, "One by one, I am going to rid you of your powers until there's nothing you can do to stop me." the glowing eyes of Riona shined in the darkness before disappearing again.

* * *

Not long after she had gone, Robin and the others came bolting into the room. Cyborg quickly analyzed the machine and switched the electric flow so that Beast Boy's animal forms poured back into him, and Raven regained her telekinetic powers. Once they were free, "How did you escape?" the dark-haired girl weakly questioned, while leaning on Robin.

"Altair came back." Starfire gleamed, "He is holding them off right now. We must hurry and finish this!"

The Titans were all in accord and made haste through the long corridors back through the castle until they reached the roof where Altair, Riona, and Dieter were caught in a heated argument, "I never meant to hurt you." Riona replied coolly to the gryphon.

"Sure, just everyone else around you, that's so much better." he snorted in reply closing in on her.

Dieter leapt immediately to her defense, batting at the gryphon with a giant paw. Altair dodged and then whipped his tail wayside to smack the wolf in his broad head. The wolf then yanked him by the tail and flipped him over jumping onto his back. A loud squawk escaped the great bird.

"Titans GO!" Robin and Bumblebee both exclaimed at once, the situation suddenly sinking in.

"Not so fast!" Riona smirked, as her shadowy creatures emerged from the floor.

At first it seemed as though Riona had raised them, but a chilling realization proved that the creatures actually had the teleporting power of Raven and the ability to change to a few limited forms compliments of Beast Boy's DNA.

Robin leapt at Dieter, and bowled the giant beast over. Raven pelted hundreds of the pesky creatures back with her glowing walls of dark energy. Cyborg charged at the creatures throwing two or three over his shoulders and then blasting a few with charged shots of blue energy. Starfire ran an aerial attack raining thousands of green starbolts onto the unsuspecting heads of the creatures below.

Frustrated with a lack of progress, Riona jumped into the battle too. She threw stray bolts of lightning and energy haphazardly. Singeing and scalding all those in her way, even some of her creatures turned to mush in the energy storm. Speedy fired arrows from afar, and even managed to hit Riona's hand with one of them that seemed to render it useless for a spell. Altair finally scrambled up from the hordes he was attracting, slashing his tail midair and breathing out a terrible ray of Biomorphicism.

More creatures were annihilated, and those that weren't, were grabbed up by Mas y Menos and thrown into the wailing energy storm that all the Titans were creating. Aqualad took a combative stance and felled some of them, while communicating control over the rest of them, "I hate to be a downer," he called, "But there's just too many!"

The others absorbed this information quickly, and had already thought this in their own hearts. Raven shook off a few more of the creatures as they seemed to overwhelm them; in the heat of the battle she locked eyes with Cyborg, and then Altair. And in that frail instant they all knew instinctively what to do. Raven glided over as quickly as she could, while Altair and Cyborg cleared the area near them. Altair glanced around, "Where's Beast Boy?"

Raven caught his eye and in an instant pulled him over to their gathering, "What?" he panted. Robin and Bumblebee could be seen trying to overpower Riona while she batted them away.

"Beast Boy we need you-"

"Of course you need me sweets." he winked and grinned.

She glared at him, "Be serious, we need you to be a distraction. If she sees a green gryphon, she's going to think it's Altair and strike as deadly as she can- we need you to get close to her, distract her while Altair and I prepare the actual blow. Cyborg with jump in at the last moment to use a special reflective heavy metal- but don't worry about Cyborg he's got rubber to ground the charge- to reflect her own power back at her. Altair and I will jump in to reign in the discharge and hold her down long enough to get the information we need. Got it?" his face was serious as he soaked in the information.

The gravity of the situation hit him hard, deep into his heart, "I love you Raven," he leaned forward and kissed her deeply- it felt like hours but it was only a split minute, before he charged off with his wings flapping and feathers falling like gunshots cutting the air as he flapped vigorously. Each flap of his magnificent wings tore the air and sounded like a deep pulse of a heartbeat to Raven as she watched him get into position.

It felt like she was moving in slow motion as she sprinted alongside Altair- each step felt heavy as she stared at Beast Boy's form; she felt as though she would never see him again…he looked back at her with his crystal eyes shinning as if telling her that they would get through this and that everything was going to be okay. Everything had to be okay. She would never speak those words, but deep down she had come to need that green-eyed boy.

* * *

Dang, it always looks like more one Word Works Processor. Well anyway, have 2-3 chapters left to finish. Will get it up soon.


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